To Be Born Anew
by Delphi913
Summary: On his endless journey through time, Ao has a sudden revelation. What if he could start the entire sequence from the beginning and correct his mistakes? What if he could make a better future for both his own world and that of his parents? Reboot Fic. This will not go how you expect it to based on the first chapter. (CHAPTER 8 HAS BEEN EXTENDED)
1. Oppurtunities

**Disclaimer: This franchise and its characters belong to BONES studios**

The planet below him looked very similar to the Earth that he had come from, as it had past several universes he had travelled through. It really didn't matter to Ao, though, as he, and the Nirvash he was sitting in, were being held in a low orbit by forces existing outside of normal time and space. He would only ever observe the Alternate Earths that he would come across, but he would never interact with them, such was his punishment.

He had erased the Quartz from existence and, with it, the ability of the Scub Coral to cross into alternate universes. He had corrected the history of the world he belonged to and had stopped the Secrets from crossing over into his parent's dimension, but at what cost? His parent's home planet would be forever doomed to exceed the Limit of Questions and he and his sister would never be born. His parents… his mother would be forever unhappy.

The only reason he even still existed was because of his mastery over trans-dimensional and temporal travel he had gained over the last couple of years.

Ao sighed at the futility of his situation. "Hey, Truth, are you still there?"

"Of course I am, where else would I be?" his IFO's archetype replied.

He cringed at that. It was still strange to him, having his once mortal enemy turned into a friendly OS for the Nirvash. The being that had once caused so much pain for him and those around him was now his eternal ally on his journey through time.

"You know, thinking back on my entire journey, I could have done a lot better than I did," he said with a sad tone in his voice.

"Yes, you could have."

"Hey! You aren't supposed to agree with me!"

"Sorry, but it's only natural that you didn't make a perfect decision. With that Quartz Cannon of yours, you had virtually unlimited options as to what outcome you could create."

_Unlimited Outcomes… _He had been pondering all of the choices he had made and could have made, from the first day he was stranded here, trying to find the best decision.

"If you're that dissatisfied with the conclusion, then why don't you change it? Start over from the beginning?"

Ao's head shot up from its resting position on his folded arms. "What?"

"You have the power to manipulate time and space thanks to our little trip through the dimensions. Why not use it to correct your mistakes?"

He continued to stare incredulously. "Could we… return everything to the way it was?"

"It's certainly possible. I still have enough energy to place you back when it all started. I can put you right around the day you crashed into Gazelle or sometime earlier if you prefer."

"We'd still need a plan though." He said as he brushed his blue locks out of his eyes.

"It's up to you, what path you take, but know that I can't do this twice as we'll both revert to our original forms and I won't have my memories."

"Yeah… I'm sorry it has to be this way Truth…"

"Don't worry about it, my friend. It's more important that you and your family are happy."

At that point, he began to plot his return and all of the details that he would change along the way. After several hours of pure thought and calculations, he was ready.

"Truth, I'm sorry to say that I'll be fighting the Secrets and protecting the Scub Coral to the end this time."

"I assume you have a good basis for making your decision?"

"Well, the Coral had more positive effects on the people than negative. Even though the Scub were invaders of our world, it was the Secret's actions against them, the Scub Bursts, that did the true damage."

"What about the disease that infected the Coral Carriers?"

"I've thought about that too. Technically, that disease was never proven entirely lethal. Plus, the Scub Coral was able to cure Naru's disease and even bring a man back from the dead with Coralian-like abilities. It'll be a gradual process, but humanity can recover and evolve past those issues just like those from my parent's world."

"…and the Limit of Questions?"

"The Secrets initial actions drastically reduced the world's population. It will be thousands of years before we reach our own Limit of Questions and we'll be relieving the burden off my parent's world."

"All right, you've made your point quite clearly," Truth replied with a mechanical noise that resembled a sigh, "but what about the Archetype? You'll need one if you want to win this fight."

"Well that's simple," he said with a smile, "I'll use the type Zero Archetype that was within Iwato Island's Scub Coral."

"And how exactly are you planning on doing that?"

"Hey, Naru isn't the only one who can interface with Scub Coral, you know." Ao said, clearly annoyed.

"I should have guessed you'd have a plan for that too. That's all we really needed to go over, so I guess I'll plot your course back to your original time. Remember, if all goes well, you'll be in the same body as you were in that time, so don't act too suspicious okay?"

"If all goes well?"

"There's no assurance that our plan will be completely successful. Be prepared to alternate in case of failure. If we do succeed, then you'll know much more than you are supposed to. People will wonder how you know that much, especially if there was no way you could have learned the information in question, so lay low."

"Got it, and Truth…"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for everything, and… goodbye, my friend."

"Goodbye Ao."

Then, tightly gripping the controls of what remained of his faithful IFO, Ao initiated his final time jump back into own time and his own body. He had made his decision. He would take up the reigns of destiny and provide a better future for all.

**A/N:**

**I obviously didn't approve of AO's BS ending that basically destroyed the plot of the entire series. So I wrote this instead, and don't bother correcting me if I got the ending of the show wrong because that's what I'm going to use as a basis for the story. Please don't criticize me too hard on this one. It's my first time writing major character dialogue and I'm obviously not very good at it right now, but I'll get better with time. If anyone wants me to continue this, then post it in a review. If not, then I'll make it a oneshot and use it for future reference.**


	2. The Beginning of Change

**Disclaimer: This series and its characters belong to BONES animation studios**

"Speech"/_'Thoughts'_

Ao woke with a start. "What was that dream I had?"

It had been odd… He had been standing atop the Scub Coral on Iwato Island's plant, and, suddenly, several white tendrils had reached up to engulf him. After that he had felt at peace, as if he was floating on the ocean that he loved so much. It had been the strangest thing, but it left him with an undeniable feeling of curiosity. He had to investigate it.

He arose from his bed and donned his usual attire of a blue hoodie, black pants, and blue shoes. He, then, left his bedroom to find his adoptive grandfather, Toshio Fukai, kneeling at table in their little home. After a quick exchange of greetings and a meal between them, Ao told his grandfather of his intentions.

"Eh? The Plant Coral? Why would you want to go there?"

"Well…" he said, running a hand through his brown hair, "That coral is the basis for all Trapar around the island, right? I kind of wanted to see it…"

Toshio looked up at him for a moment before saying, "Alright, but be back before dark. You start middle school in a couple of days, so I want you to get some rest."

'_Middle school… Is it really okay for me to go there?'_

"Thanks Grandfather!" he said as he ran out.

**In Transit to Iwato Island Plant Coral**

On his way to the plant, he had run into his best friend, Arata Naru. She had insisted on coming along with him after he had told her where he was going, saying something about it being too dangerous to go alone. He had been telling her of his dream from the night before.

"Wow, that sounds a lot like one of my Yuta visions…" she said, tapping her finger against her cheek.

"I've never had such a strange dream or one that felt so real," He replied, gripping the controls of his FP (Flying Platform), "I have to know what it means."

**Iwato Island Plant Coral**

As he brought his FP to a halt, he noticed that the facility was completely bereft of people.

"Is it really okay for us to be here?" Naru nervously asked.

"I'm sure it's fine. It clearly says 'visitors always welcome' on the sign over there."

The two walked past the entry gate towards the facility itself. The massive metallic structure was basically a colossal cylindrical container to house the Scub Coral. It was very simple to climb up the stairs and reach the railing that overlooked the top of the organic mass.

"It was right there in the center-"his voice trailed off as the girl next to him collapsed to her knees and took out her Breather. "Are you all right? Is it another attack?"

"I'm fine," she said between sharp inhales, "but we shouldn't stay here too long. The trapar density isn't good for my lungs."

He put a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. "Don't worry. I'll do what I need to and we'll be out of here in no time."

Ao then proceeded to hop the railing and land directly on the top of the Coral, scattering green particles with his footsteps. The ground seemed to light up with each step he took toward the center. When he finally reached his destination, the ground was shining white. A quick glance at Naru brought her worried visage to his mind. Then, his dream suddenly came to life as several white tendrils rose from the Coral, wrapped around his limbs, and began pulling him in.

"AGH!" He screamed as he tried to break free.

"NO! AO!" Naru, despite her difficulty breathing, had quickly closed the distance between them and tightly gripped his hand. Her efforts were for naught, however, as she was also pulled in to the Coral body.

"NARU!"

Blackness.

**Unspecified Location**

Soft.

He was lying on… Grass?

Ao bolted up to find his immediate location was a multi-ridged Cliffside. He was surrounded by grass and in the distance; he could see some sort of colossal structure that seemingly touched the sky from its position within a large cityscape.

Turning his gaze back to the Cliffside, he saw a figure standing there. It was peering of into the endless horizon. He rose to his feet and approached the figure who, upon closer inspection, appeared to be a man not much older than he, wearing a button-up shirt and slacks. He also had… blue hair?

'_Just like mother. Who could he be?'_

'_I am a part of the Scub Coral's shared mind. Welcome Ao Fukai.' _A voice spoke within his mind.

The figure turned around to face him, showing off his features which were similar to his mother's.

'_What is going on here?!' _he thought.

'_You've interfaced with the Scub Coral and entered The Zone as you were expected to, but you have done so earlier than was needed.' _The figure thought back to him.

'_What do you mean by that? Who are you?'_

'_I have no need for a name in my current state, but you may refer to me as Aeterna. Your other question will be answered in time. Through the natural course of your life, you will come to obtain an item. Once you have it, return here and we will answer many of your questions… including those you have about yourself and your family.'_

His eyes widened. A chance to learn about his true nature and the fate of his family. It was suspicious, but if he was telling the truth, then it was a great opportunity. He had to be cautious, though. Whatever he was to get for this… Aeterna, he would have to be sure it would be used for the right reasons.

'_Have no fear. We have only good intentions.'_

He looked back up from his thoughts to see Aeterna smirking at him.

'_It's not polite to eavesdrop you know.' _He deadpanned to the man in front of him.

'_You should keep better control over your thoughts,' _he thought with a mental chuckle, _'but I trust this means that you will help us?'_

'_Yes, I'll help you. Now, what do you need me to bring you?'_

'_It is known to you as Nirvash. You will recognize it when you see it.'_

'_You're going to send me to find something without telling me what it is?'_

'_I'm not asking you to search for it, I'm asking you to live your life like you normally would and when it comes into your possession, bring it here.'_

'_Fine, fine, but how do I get out of here?'_

'_You are free to come and go whenever you like through the door behind you.'_

He turned around to look, and there was, indeed, a door standing a short distance behind him. It was a simple wooden door and frame attached to nothing. He suddenly remembered something and mentally slapped himself for not remembering it earlier.

'_What about Naru? Where is she?' _Ao thought aggressively.

'_She has already left, and in much better condition than she arrived. She is waiting for you back in the normal world. We have told her as we tell you now, speak of this to no one and act as you would as if this never happened. Understand?'_

'_Yeah…'_

'_Good, and Ao?'_

'_Yes?'_

'_Keep her close to you. From this point onward, your destinies are entwined in a way that you do not yet understand.'_

'_Okay… Thanks, I guess…'_

'_You are welcome. Don't forget your promise.'_

On that note, the man walked off the cliff face and disappeared in midair leaving Ao staring. Shaking his head he approached the door behind him and opened it revealing darkness beyond its frame. With a deep breath, he stepped through.

**Iwato Island Plant Coral (Inner Facility)**

He felt the sensation of being shaken awake and open his eyes to see Naru leaning over him. He blushed slightly at her face being so close to his.

"Ao, thank God you're all right." She said with relief in her voice and a small grin on her face.

"Of course I am, you dummy," he said, getting to his feet, "but we should get out of here soon, the workers will likely return at any moment."

"Yeah, we should. Talk on the way back?"

"Right." And with that, the two departed the scene. Ao was too lost in his thoughts to notice that Naru was a little more energetic than usual, or that they'd left her Breather back at the plant.

**Iwato Island Coral (The Zone)**

Aeterna sighed at his misfortune.

"It would have been so much easier if the implantation had gone as I had originally planned."

"It wasn't your fault." The woman behind him said softly, "There was no way that you could have anticipated that the amount of memories a body could hold would be proportional to its age."

He turned towards her, "I still should have seen it. He'll be going into the battlefield completely unprepared now."

"He'll be fine," she said with a smile, "he's already endured it once."

"I know," he replied with a sigh, "and I trust you'll lead him towards my goal in this timeline?'

"You've shown me the path to a better future. I will hold him to that path if I can."

"All we can do is hope that he will find what we seek and change the planet's fate with the power that we give him… that SHE gives him."

"I believe in him."

"As do I."

**A/N:**

**Whoa. I'm surprised at myself for writing all of that. Guess I can dish it out at the right topic. So, as you can guess, I'm setting up the rest of the story with this chapter. If you read the first chapter, then you should be able to guess at what I'm doing. Speaking of which, I give my humble thanks to my reviewers. It really is a great morale boost to see that others appreciate my work. I also ask that you leave suggestions if you think of a good idea for this fic as I have no real predefined plan for this story and I'm just free-writing this in my spare time. Also, if you spot grammatical or spelling errors, be sure to point them out. I don't mind criticism for my work as long as it isn't senseless bashing. Be sure to rate and review. If people like this, then more is definitely on the way. :D**


	3. The Battle Before the Battle

**Disclaimer: This series and its characters belong to BONES Animation Studios**

"Speech"/_'Thoughts'_

**Iwato Island Coast**

The ocean caressed the sides of his face and the rest of his body as Ao contemplated over what had happened the day before. After that incident at the Plant Coral, he had escorted Naru home before returning to his own. On the way they had both agreed that what they had witnessed had, in fact, happened and they both agreed not to speak to their families about it.

'_Naru…' _She had been his best friend since childhood and his only friend back in those days. Okinawans were very distrusting of foreigners and she had been the only one, at the time, who could see past his violet eyes and pale face. She had been the only one who held no prejudice towards him because of who his mother was… is.

'_I never should have taken her along. She's too important to me…' _He blushed at his own thoughts.

"Oh" he was suddenly reminded of the call she had given him that morning. He was supposed to take her to the forest to pick up Noah, her pet sloth. She had had another dream last night and wanted Noah to be near her in case her vision came true.

Thoughts still tumbling inside his head, he got up, dried himself, and put his outer layer of clothes back on. Soon he was in his FP, speeding towards Naru's home, taking in all of the sights to be found around the island.

'_I really do love this island, even if I am only tolerated here; I love this place and the ocean.' _He thought happily.

His happiness quickly diminished when he arrived at Naru's home to find the girl herself standing at the entrance, looking unamused.

"You're late again, you idiot." She said, irritated.

"Sorry," he replied, sheepishly, "I lose track of time when I'm lying in the ocean."

"Ao, you've got to keep better track of your time." She lectured, "You're going to be starting middle school tomorrow and you BETTER be there to pick me up in the morning."

"I will, I will. Just get in the FP and let's be off already."

Naru boarded with a "humph" and they were soon speeding towards the forest, but not before Naru had something else to surprise him with.

"Hey Ao, there's another reason I called for you today. I have to talk to you."

"What about?"

After a moment's hesitation she said, "I can breathe."

"What?"

"I can breathe just fine, and I mean without the Breather. I don't even have it anymore. It's back at the plant."

"You mean…"

"It's like the disease was never there."

Ao pondered this for a while. Naru had had a disease that had restricted her breathing ever since the Okinawan Scub Burst a few years ago. There were many times where she had collapsed and he had to take her to Toshio to receive treatment. Now, suddenly, the disease was gone?

"How long?"

"Since the incident from yesterday. I only noticed it after I was home and you had left."

"Does your family know?"

"They haven't noticed yet, but they will soon if it doesn't come back."

'_This definitely has something to do with the Scub Coral, but…' _he thought while shifting the vehicle side to side to avoid the islanders and the occasional FP, _'if the disease is gone, then this is a good thing. I'll have to ask Aeterna about it when I bring him the Nirvash.'_

"Well you don't have to deal your disease anymore. That's the important part right?" he said with a smile, "I'm happy for you Naru."

She looked at him with surprise and, with slightly flushed cheeks, said, "Ao… Thank you."

They soon arrived at Iwato Island's forest and retrieved Noah from there in case Naru's visions of an impending fire were true. It was on the way back, that disaster struck.

"AO! LOOK OUT!"

Swimming colors.

**Pacific Ocean Skyway (In Transit to Iwato Island)**

Three custom FPs zipped across the air above the ocean as they made their way toward the Union of Okinawa. In the lead car was man in charge of their team and the important cargo they had been asked to smuggle.

"100,000 Okinawan dollars for transporting a few ECUs… What an easy job! I wish all of our jobs were this simple," remarked, Gazelle, the leader of the group.

"Still, do you really think it's a good idea to trust the Japanese Armed Forces?" his partner, Han, inquired.

"…and letting them install an unknown device into your FP? They might be trying to pull a fast one on us," added his other partner, Pippo.

"Hey, lay off! You guys saw it too. It's the latest model beacon controller. It lets the JAF guide and track us, so it's no problem if they want it here."

"Maybe they're lying and there's a catch to it," Han replied.

"Hey, if you have a problem with it, then you can buzz off and I'll take the hundred-thousand myself!" he said while touching the triangular device with the strange green cube in its center.

He couldn't have anticipated that the device would open up, or that it would blow smoke in his face, obscuring his vision.

"Gazelle! What happened? Gazelle!" Han and Pippo were both yelling worriedly over the communicator.

"I'm all right," he grunted in reply, "there's no fire, but the generator's gone haywire. I'm going to try and land this thing."

"Okay. We're right behind you."

He steered the FP toward the beach, but, despite his best efforts, he couldn't stop himself from crashing into the other FP that he was headed toward.

**Iwato Island Coast (FP Crash Site)**

Ao shook himself out of his stupor and got up to survey the damage and check on his passenger. "Naru!" She was still breathing. It looked like she had hit the bars that separated the driver's cabin from the passenger's seat and had been knocked unconscious. _'She's all right…' _he thought with a sigh of relief.

"OUCH!"

He looked toward the FP that had crashed into him. Apparently a brief case had fallen out of it and its contents were splayed out all across the sand. The source of the call had been driver who had fallen out of it backwards. He was a tall man wearing a pink shirt over a black one and white shorts. He had messy black hair that waved in the wind as he ran straight towards the poor boy.

Gripping Ao's hoodie, Gazelle yelled right in his face, "What were you thinking jumping out in front of me like that!?"

"What are you talking about? It was your awful driving that almost killed me and Naru!"

"What was that?!"

"I said your driving sucks!"

"You-" They both stopped at the sound of a wracking cough. At the same time they looked over to see that Naru had come to. Released from Gazelle's grasp, Ao ran over to check on her.

"Naru are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"Ao… my head hurts, but I think I'm okay," she replied in a daze.

He looked down and noticed something sticking slightly out of the sand. Picking it up he found it to be a strange-looking, green bracelet. _'Where have I seen this before?' _he thought before pocketing it.

"Hurry up!"

Ao looked over to see that Gazelle and his pal, Pippo, were gathering up the contents of the briefcase while his other friend, Han, was checking on the wrecked FP.

"Quick! Get everything back in that case! If the JAF are tracking us, then they'll think we're up to something!" Gazelle uttered nervously.

"The JAF?" Ao said incredulously as Naru walked up to his side, arms around Noah.

Gazelle and Pippo turned to look menacingly back at him.

"You're Fukai's kid right? Sorry for busting your FP. We'll pay for it later and for the girl's medical bills if she was injured, but we have somewhere to be right now," Gazelle said with some recovered resolve.

"Hey Han! How's the ECU looking?" he called over to the navy haired man.

"It's no good!" his friend replied, "I've never seen anything like this before!" The device was covered in some odd green material.

"Damn! At a time like this!"

"What do we do?" Pippo asked.

"We could try to carry it in one of the other FPs," Han suggested, "but it might be too heavy- What the?!"

The green material suddenly began to glow as rainbow-colored light moved across the ground in waves.

"The ECU! It's-" was all that Han could get out before a titanic column of rainbow colored light violently shot up into the sky from the remains of the FP.

"Naru! It's a-" Ao yelled.

"Scub Burst." She finished for him, looking at the pillar in fear.

**Génération Bleu Headquarters (Command and Analysis Room), Switzerland**

Crew Chief Ivica was not amused. He had just been called here off of his and his crew's mandatory resting period. They had already completed a mission earlier that day and now he was being called on another one. He entered the room to find the company's President, Christophe Blanc, and, Rebecka, his Communications Officer already there.

"Why was I called here? You could just as easily send another team after this one." Ivica stated calmly but insistently. "The children need to rest."

"I'm sorry, Ivica, but these are very special circumstances we are working with," Blanc said to him with a serious tone in his voice, something that happened very rarely.

"The Scub Coral reading we've been getting has shown signs of massive growth in the past few minutes and the worst part..." Rebecka said to him before pressing on the console in front of her, "is the location." The monitor showed the new Scub Coral was materializing in Okinawa, Japan.

"This is already causing territorial disputes between Japan, China, and The Okinawan Union. They all want to lay claim to the Coral," Blanc stated.

"How troublesome."

"You understand now, right? Will you respond to the order to scramble?"

Ivica looked at him for a hard moment before responding. "I don't really have much of a choice, do I?"

Blanc just smiled at him in response.

**Iwato Island (Scub Coral Arrival Site)**

"Hey! You two get out of here now!" Pippo yelled at Ao and Naru.

"Uh, right!" Ao yelled back before taking Naru's hand and pulling her away from the disaster site.

"Come on, you two!" Gazelle yelled at his companions, "We'll use the Burst to hide our escape!"

They ran back to their FPs and flew off.

"So this is… Scub Coral," Gazelle said from the inside of Han's FP.

Behind them, the pillar of light and circular symbols surrounding it disappeared as a gargantuan cropping of mushroom-shaped Coral appeared in its place. The Coral began glowing and releasing Trapar particles.

**Iwato Island (Fukai Residence)**

After Ao had dropped Naru off at her own home, promising that everything would be okay to the trembling girl, he had headed back to his own. Upon arrival, he found Toshio sitting on the steps, dressed in his doctor's attire, tying his shoes.

"Where's that FP of yours?" he asked without urgency.

"A man named Gazelle crashed into it with his own FP. He promised to pay for it later."

"That man, huh? He's been nothing but trouble to the rest of us." He finished tying his shoes and stood up. "Well, I'm off. I've been called to the clinic for when the G-Monster appears. Don't expect me back till late."

As if to respond to the old man, another pillar of light shot up in the distance and, from it, a creature made up of black and red diamond shapes appeared.

"See? Stay here and don't go anywhere till morning. I already lost your mother; I don't want to lose you too." Toshio said before heading off.

"Grandpa…" Ao said before taking out the bracelet that had been in his pocket. He noticed that it was glowing and letters were passing over the metal surface of the latch.

E-U-R-E-K-A it spelled out. "Mother…" he said, but it kept going. A-O. His own name was now shown on the latch. He gasped as he suddenly remembered.

**JAF Naval Cargo Ship: Shimokita (Positioned Near Iwato Island)**

"We're had faith that you would return to us even with all that's happened," the white uniformed officer said as he took the briefcase from Gazelle's hands.

"Of course. Unlike the mainlanders, we Okinawans actually keep our promises." Gazelle returned.

"Of course," the officer said with a laugh, after handing the case to his CO, Colonel Nakamura, "You'll receive your payment once we've confirmed that all of the case's contents are present."

"Bad luck," Nakamura said, holding the case up for the group to see, "The key is missing."

Gazelle looked and, indeed, saw an empty space where a green bracer was supposed to be.

"What now, Boss? Do you think it's back at the Scub Coral?" Pippo suggested.

"Even if it was, we can't go back there. The G-Monster is sure to appear soon." Gazelle stated.

"Well, that kid was also there. We should go and check to see if he has it." Han said.

"Wherever it is, if you can manage to get it to us in the next six hours then we'll still pay you." Nakamura said calmly even though he was questioning whether these men could really do it in his mind.

"Alright, boys. Let's go!" Gazelle as he and his partners took off in their FPs. The second column appeared soon after they left.

**Iwato Island (Fukai Residence)**

Ao remembered his mother standing there on that beach, hands behind her back and bracelet clearly visible on her left wrist. A tear slowly slid down his cheek and landed on the latch.

"Mother…"

"Hey, Kid!" He heard Gazelle's voice and felt him walk up next to him.

"So you did have it after all… Come on, give it here," he said as he tried to take it from him.

'_This is the only thing I have left of Mother. I can't let him have it.'_ He yanked the bracelet back from Gazelle.

"This bracelet is all I have left of my Mother! I won't let you take it! I won't let anyone take it!" he yelled while looking straight into the man's eyes.

Gazelle just looked at him, surprised before he made up his mind.

"Alright, if you won't give it up, then you're coming with us," Gazelle said as he picked up Ao and shoved him into the FP that was close by.

**Pacific Ocean (In Transit to Shimokita)**

"Where are you taking me?!" Ao shouted from the backseat.

"I'm taking you to a JAF ship. They have a military FP there that can be operated by that bracer you've got on. Unless you want to stand by and let that G-Monster destroy the island." Gazelle said looking ahead of them.

"What?"

"You've learned about it in school, right? The G-Monster will destroy the Scub Coral and everything in the surrounding area. You're island-born too aren't you? Don't you want to defend your home?"

"…but that international rescue group will handle it won't they?"

"What if they don't show up? The island will be doomed if we don't do something soon!" Gazelle yelled back at him.

Ao looked down. _'Can I really do something for these people?'_ he thought.

"I've tracked the ship's movements. They changed course earlier to avoid some of our military vessels. I'm sending you their location now." Han said over the communicator.

"Okay let's go!" Gazelle shouted while making a sharp turn, throwing Ao into a door.

**JAF Naval Cargo Ship Shimokita (Positioned Near Iwato Island)**

"Colonel, the Secret appears to be targeting us!" one of the officers yelled.

"I thought that Secrets only targeted Scub Coral! Why is it coming after us?!" the officer from earlier said urgently at Nakamura.

"Maybe it's because of the Mark 1…" Nakamura suggested with little worry in his voice.

"Sirs, the courier's FPs are approaching!" the radar officer called out.

"Let them aboard. They probably have the key." Nakamura said to the officer.

"Sirs, the Secret is turning its main cannon on us! I estimate a minute till impact!"

"What?!"

Meanwhile, after receiving confirmation from the com. Officer, Gazelle crashed the FP onto the ship's deck.

"That military FP is over there! Get in it!" Gazelle yelled at Ao, who was already out on the deck.

"What are you talking about?!" Ao yelled back.

"You have the key right now! You're the only one who could operate that thing!"

Ao looked down at the bracer around his wrist. _'Can I really do this?' _he thought.

'_Ao.'_

He looked up to see the translucent form of Aeterna looking at him with a smile on his face.

'_Defend the Scub Coral.'_ Heard him speak in his mind before he disappeared.

He turned to the, now coverless, FP and another memory came to him.

'_He was sitting in his mother's lap as she ran her hands through his hair. "I'm teaching it to help you… the Nirvash."'_

He now knew what Aeterna had meant. He wanted him to pilot this FP for him.

"I'll do it," he said, climbing into the cockpit, "I'll defend this island that I love." He pressed the start-up button on the center console. "I'll protect those precious to me," he said thinking of his grandfather and Naru. The round light upon the console lit up a brilliant green and, somehow his hair turned to a turquoise color.

"…and I'll keep my promise," he finished.

Then, the Secret's cannon shot struck the side of the ship and his FP was sent careening into the water.

**A/N:**

***huff* *huff* I honestly have no idea where that came from. I guess I was really enjoying writing this or maybe I just wanted to get going with the story so I could get to the bigger changes, but yeah. I cut out the unnecessary bit from the anime where the first Secret appears and nothing really happens until the second one appears and then a third one appears, I think. I'm watching as I go to remind myself of the early dialogue. It's been a little less than two years since I watched the anime for the first time. I also combined those initial scenes with the ones from the manga. Anyway, my earlier points still stand. Please make a suggestion if you have one and please point out any grammatical errors or plot inconsistencies so that I can correct them. I look forward to hearing from you.**


	4. Taking Flight

**Disclaimer: This series and its characters belong to BONES Animation Studios**

"Speech"/_'Thoughts'_

**Génération Bleu Headquarters (Command and Analysis Room)**

"Don't worry about it, Prime Minister," President Blanc spoke to the Com. Window open at his side, "eliminating unknown entities that threaten mankind is the job of our company. Team Pied Piper is already in the air and ready to go when we send the word."

"You're sending your Ace team to help us?" The Okinawan Prime Minister responded, "Thank you very much!"

"The team, however, happens to be in less than perfect condition, Prime Minister, so what's say we have a little discussion about our fee?" Blanc returned letting the ambient light shine over his glasses.

"Eh? A-Alright, President," the Prime Minister replied, disgruntled.

**Génération Bleu Flying Assault Landing Ship: Triton (In Low Orbit above The Pacific Ocean)**

An orange aura covered the bottom of the ship as it began to enter the atmosphere. Its current trajectory would take it right into Okinawan Airspace.

"The Secret's distance from the Scub Coral is currently four kilometers," reported Rebecka Hallström, the Com. Officer aboard the ship, "Georg, what 's its type?"

On her monitor, the ship's AI interface popped up in response. "Ms. Hallström, Ma'am," The AI, known to the crew as Georg, said, "With the information that we've gathered, and that which we've received from HQ, we have confirmed it to be of the same type as those seen in South America in the 1940s based on a few photographs and some eyewitness accounts, however, we cannot entirely confirm the accuracy…"

As the AI continued to rattle on, Ivica, the Crew Chief, asked, "What's our ETA?"

"Eleven minutes, sir," his pilot replied.

"Unfortunately, we estimate that the Secret will reach the Scub Coral in eight minutes, at which point a large Scub Burst will occur decimating much of the island," Georg said.

Down in the ship's hanger, IFO pilot, Fleur Blanc, was not happy with this new information.

"If we wait till we get there, we'll never make it in time! Let us launch ahead of you and we'll be able to catch it!" she yelled angrily.

Over the Com, Ivica said to the other pilot, "Elena, do you agree with her?"

Not really paying attention to the situation, more interested in twirling her hair, she responded, "I'll go… If we're allowed…"

"Alright!" Fleur said loudly, but at the same time Rebecka interrupted by saying, "We can't."

"What?!"

"We don't have a signed contract yet, and the Okinawan SDF is on alert. If we operate without a contract in an area of interest like this, we'll be held in contempt and we might lose our assets like your IFOs for instance."

"So it's better to let these people die?!"

"If it can save thousands more, then yes."

"Is there nothing we can do for the children of that island?" Ivica said, sadly.

**Pacific Ocean (Below the Surface), Iwato Island**

Cold darkness.

Ao opened his eyes to find himself near the bottom of the ocean that he had been thrown into a minute earlier… and that the FP was now completely under his control. The monitor was saying something about a "Third Engine" being online, whatever that meant.

"Okay, let's try getting out of the water." He rotated the unit upward and brought the main engine online. His head impacted the head of his seat as he shot upward out of the water.

**Pacific Ocean (Shimokita Destruction Site)**

Nakamura and another senior officer had just finished getting the remainder of the ship's personnel onto the inflatable life boats that they were now in. His mood was understandably sour.

"After all of the trouble we went through getting the Mark 1 from the Americans and we lose it before we even turn it on," Nakamura said while sighing, "and now we're probably going to die when that Secret makes contact with the Scub."

Suddenly, the ocean surrounding them began to shake and out from beneath the surface of the water came:

"The Mark 1?!"

The large grey and green flying machine twisted gracefully through the air as it sped off toward the Secret which was now tearing its way through a coastal town in order to reach the Scub Coral.

"Yeah! That kid did it!" Gazelle yelled with glee. He and Pippo were only a few meters away from Nakamura's crew. "He'll save the island! I know he can!"

"What are we going to do now, Boss? I don't want to be stuck here if a battle is going on." Pippo said unenthusiastically

"Eh? Let me think…"

"Need a hand?" said a voice from behind him.

He turned around to find Han and his FP directly behind him. "Took you long enough," he said as he and Pippo climbed in before they sped off.

**Génération Bleu Flying Assault Landing Ship: Triton (Okinawan Airspace)**

The battleship sailed ever closer to the island at its top speed, but still showed no signs of launching its IFO complement.

"We still don't have a signed contract," Rebecka said with a sigh, "Fortunately, the Secret is stationary for the time being."

"I don't like it either, but I guess we'll have to wait," Ivica said, equally depressed.

"Ms. Hallström, I fear there may be an error in our detection system," Georg said suddenly.

"What kind of error?"

"I'm detecting an IFO rapidly approaching the Secret and its IDC appears to be an exact match to the Mark 1 which was withdrawn from active duty last year."

Ivica's eyes widened at this. "What did you say?!"

**Okinawan Coastal Airspace**

The G-Monster released several shots at the approaching craft and Ao quickly banked left and right to avoid them. He darted straight past the mysterious creature before pulling a lever on pure instinct. This activated the machine's automatic transformation sequence. The jet-like unit fluidly converted to a humanoid shape, its thrusters holding it up as it slammed together two pieces of its previous incarnation to form a Lift-Board which it quickly mounted.

Ao was breathing heavily, the G-Forces taking their toll on his body. Noticing that something was off, he pulled up an exterior view screen which yielded some surprising new information.

"Shoulders?" he said, "So, Mother's Nirvash is an IFO?"

His attention was diverted by a warning on his view screen. The Secret was preparing to fire again.

He gripped the controls tightly. "I can do this… I can do this… I'm not scared… I can't afford to be scared… Mother did this before me, so I can do it also… I will protect this island!" he reassured himself with increased fervor before he rushed straight at the creature, his voice ringing out in sheer determination.

He dodged the shot sent at him and impacted the monster at high speed. He attempted to strike it several times with the Nirvash's fists. This had little effect, however, as he was thrown high into the air by the G-Monster who followed his trajectory.

Seeing the Secret come straight for him, he screamed and veered the Nirvash out of the way. With a burst of speed, he headed over the island, hoping to lose his pursuer somewhere in the landscape.

**Iwato Island (Plains Area)**

Toshio Fukai drove his small van toward the Central Clinic in a hurry. He had discovered the Arata family's car flipped over in the middle of the road, and the family itself gathered in front of it. They were all covered in various injuries which were normal for that type of situation, but what irked him was the girl, Naru. She was in a lot better condition than she should be considering what they had just gone through. The rapid change in air pressure should have sent her lungs screaming in pain, and yet here she was with only the same minor bruises as the rest of the family. He would have to hold some examinations later in case she had any abnormalities.

"I'm surprised that you would help us," Mitsuo Arata, the father of Naru and her little sister Miyu, said, interrupting Toshio's thoughts.

"Your animosity towards Ao will not change the fact that he was also born of this island," Toshio replied, knowing exactly what this was about, "I don't regret my decision to take him in, or his mother."

"I don't hate the kid. I even kind of like him for giving my daughter happiness in her short life, but I can't ignore the circumstances that surround him," Mitsuo returned, sorrow in his voice.

"Father! You know he can't control what happens to this island!" Naru said fiercely, "You can't blame every bad thing that happens on him and his mother! They don't deserve it!"

Toshio smiled as the daughter lectured her own father. He had always liked how much fire the girl had despite her fragility. His thoughts were, once again, broken by a familiar looking IFO flying over his little car followed by a G-Monster.

Toshio gasped in surprise at seeing that steel giant again. "Could it be?" he wondered, "Have you returned or is it-"

That was all he was able to say as two more machines raced overhead. One was blue and the other one was red.

**Okinawan Airspace (In Transit to Scub Coral Site)**

Some hundreds of meters behind Ao and the Nirvash, were Génération Bleu's IFO team, Pied Piper. In the red-plated Kyrie, pilot Elena Peoples remarked, "The Mark 1 was the first IFO ever discovered. It was put out of commission last year after it was no longer capable of being piloted, so why is it here and who is moving it?"

Over in the blue-plated Alleluia, her partner, Fleur Blanc responded, "Whoever it is, he's obviously a rookie! He's leading the Secret right to the Scub Coral!"

Back in the Nirvash, Ao had realized his mistake when the clouds in front of the exterior cameras cleared and he could see the Scub Coral sitting right in front of him.

'_How could I be so stupid?! If we keep heading in this direction, then the G-Monster will trigger the Burst and everyone will die!' _he though feverishly as he continued to dodge enemy fire.

Unfortunately, he had no choice but to continue his approach. He couldn't risk the G-Monster not following him if he tried to lead it away so he had to stay on course and beat it before it could cause the explosion.

Holding his Lift-Board in the cradle of the Nirvash's left arm he made landing right on top of the Coral, with the Secret following suit. He poured all of his concentration into his actions as he dodged another shot before he noticed that the creature was now firing wildly in every direction, seeming to have lost interest in him.

"Is it confused?" he asked before checking his monitors. He then noticed that the Trapar density in the area was quite high. "Of course! He can't see me because of the increase in Trapar in this area!"

He felt it... The wind under his wings… the storm of Trapar.

"What's with all of the Trapar in the area, all of a sudden?" Fleur asked

"The Mark 1's third engine is online!" Elena replied with no small amount of surprise in her voice.

"What?!"

"It was the only thing that the researchers never figured out how to use…"

"He managed to get a third engine working? Who is he?"

With renewed confidence, Ao soared straight up into the air, twisting on the waves of Trapar with unimaginable skill.

"No way!"

"He's riding it!"

The Secret, reacquiring its target, shot up after him in pursuit. At the peak of his climb, Ao spun the Nirvash around and began to fall back towards the enemy. With a loud yell he extended the Nirvash's electrified knuckleduster and swung its fist right into the Secret's core, shattering it to pieces.

As he fell away, he saw the bright light and roaring sound of the Secret violently exploding above causing no damage to the Coral below it.

'_Ao, you performed brilliantly,' _he heard a familiar voice in his mind, _'Please return to us at once. We have much to discuss.'_

The voice in his mind was interrupted by the one that was coming in over the radio.

"Attention, IFO pilot. You're not broadcasting an International IDC. Please state your name and nationality," Fleur said putting on her best professional attitude.

Not really sure how to respond, he hit the communicator and a window popped up showing that he was on audio only.

"He responded. IFO pilot can you hear me?" he heard the woman over the radio say.

'_I'll probably need to talk to them eventually, but for now, I need to keep my promise and there's no better time than now. '_he thought begrudgingly.

He cancelled the Com. channel, shifted the Nirvash back to its jet-like state, and sped off toward the Plant Coral.

"He's running," Elena said.

"I'll go after him!" Fleur replied, with a hint of glee in her voice.

"Don't hurt him. He seems like a nice guy."

"That depends entirely on him."

Ivica just stared ahead, as he listened in, eyebrows lowered and in deep thought.

**Okinawan Airspace (In Transit to Iwato Island Plant Coral)**

Ao was impressed with the pilot that was chasing him. Whoever she was, she obviously had a lot of experience piloting as she was able to match him move for move, feeding off the Trapar his engine was apparently giving off unbeknownst to him.

It didn't really matter in the end, though. Once he reached the Coral, there was nothing she could do to stop him from entering it. Fleur, on the other hand, was enjoying herself. She hadn't met a pilot yet who could match her skills, Elena aside, and along came this unknown pilot who, despite his apparent inexperience, was able ride Trapar like an expert and even defeat a Secret and without suffering any damage too. She would love to meet this guy, whoever he was.

She followed him all the way to the island's Plant Coral where he landed right in the center of the Coral Cropping. She landed not too far away and activated her radio again. He had responded earlier and she had, at least, heard him breathing so she knew he could hear her.

"You know you can't run forever," she said, trying to reason with the mystery pilot, "so why don't you come back with me and we can-" She paused at the sight before her.

The Mark 1 had begun to kneel as if the pilot was going to exit the unit, but before she could do anything, the Coral below the first IFO began to shine white. Suddenly, several white tendrils rose up, engulfing the unit and drawing it into the Coral before settling down as if nothing had ever happened.

Fleur just stared in fear over what had happened.

"W-W-What just h-happened?" she said shakily.

"Fleur? What's wrong? The Mark 1's IDC disappeared all of a sudden," she heard Rebecka say over the radio.

"The Scub Coral… it ate the Mark 1!"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I saw several white tentacle-like things reach up and pull the Mark 1 into the Coral."

"What? That's not possible! The Coral isn't even active!"

"I'm just telling you what I saw!"

"Her vocal patterns and vital signs indicate that she is telling the truth," she heard Georg say.

After a short moment of confused silence, Rebecka said, "Well, whatever happened, our top priority as of now is retrieving the Quartz. Go on and help Elena."

"O-Okay," she said, and with one last look, she hurried back toward the island's ne Scub Coral.

**Iwato Island Plant Coral (The Zone)**

This time Ao found himself in a vast cavern with massive pillars of stone leading up to ridged ceilings that were glowing a light green color. Sticking out of those ceilings appeared to be white, humanoid shapes.

"Archetypes," a familiar voice said from behind him, startling him in the process

"What?" Ao asked, turning around to see Aeterna directly behind him.

"You were looking at those bodies on the ceiling. Those are called Archetypes."

"What's an Archetype? And why are we suddenly talking now? I thought you preferred telepathy?"

"I only did that as a demonstration the last time you were here and I used it outside because it is necessary. Now, to answer your question, an Archetype is a biological structure that, when fed with electric current, can be manipulated into moving much in the same vein as a human body. They were used as base structures for fighting mechanoids, similar to your IFO's, on the Scub's home planet."

"Wouldn't it be a lot more efficient just to use a purely mechanical body?"

"Ah, but you see on the Scub's world, these were found before they figured out how to construct purely mechanical base bodies, besides, even though they are a lot harder to repair, the Archetypes have their advantages. For example, if the right person or persons pilot one, an Archetype is capable of generating mass amounts of Trapar."

"I see… Wait! We can talk about that later! What about the promise?" Ao asked, bringing them back to the reason he was here in the first place.

"Ah, yes. Well, you've succeeded in bringing the Nirvash and for that I congratulate you, but it alone will not be enough to suppress the Secrets."

"Wait, you want me to pilot for you? To fight the G-Monsters? How do you expect me to do that? I barely survived the fight with the last one!"

"I thought you wanted to defend your home, and to find out the fate of your mother? What happened to the resolve you had when you entered the Nirvash?"

"I…" He looked away. He knew all that the man in front of him was saying was true, but he still was held back by that one emotion that dug its roots deep in his soul: fear.

"Ao…" he said with a sad look on his face, "I'm only asking this of you because you are the only one of us that can enter the real world and fight in our defense. If there were any other option, I would gladly take it, but there is none."

Ao thought about it for a while. If what he was saying was true, then the Scub Coral was sentient, intelligent life. To walk away now would be to doom an entire race to death. He couldn't allow that and keep himself from regretting it for the rest of his life. He would fight. For the Scub, for his mother, and for the people of the island, he would fight.

"Alright, I'll fight for you." He said with conviction.

"I'm glad. If you will fight then I'll give you the means to do so."

Behind Aeterna, The Nirvash rose from the ground, and another IFO rose right next to it. This new one had a red and white color scheme and it looked similar to the Nirvash, but it had much smoother aesthetics and no visible weaponry.

"Aeterna, what is this?"

"This, my friend, is an LFO. The first of its kind to be built on the homeworld."

"LFO?"

"It stands for 'Light-Finding Operation.' This was the kind of mecha I was telling you about earlier. This one is named Nirvash type ZERO and it was piloted by both your mother and your father."

"What? Mother and Father fought together in this machine?"

"That's right. Unfortunately, this is only a replica of the original, but it's got a type ZERO Archetype and that's all that matters."

He placed his hand against the type ZERO, but yanked it back when he felt a flood of emotions pour out of the "machine." He had felt the recognition that comes with meeting with an old friend after a long time apart, the happiness of meeting a new friend for the first time, and the sorrow of being separated from someone that is important to you all in the same second.

"What was that?"

"It uses a biological body. It is alive and intelligent just like the Coral that it comes from."

"Can it die?"

"Yes, if subjected to enough physical damage, it can die. I hope that you won't treat it that roughly though."

"Are you giving me the type ZERO?"

"No, I'm going to take the organic and breathe new life into the mechanical," he said raising his hands.

At his utterance, the two machines turned translucent and moved towards each other until they overlapped completely and in a bright flash of light, a new "IFO" was born. It looked like a true fusion of two machines that it was made of. It had the Mark 1's color scheme and base design, but it was smoother and had more complex armor. Donned on its shoulders were the two pieces of its Lift-Board and on just behind the cockpit was a spoiler.

"This is what you'll use to fight the Secrets."

The machine kneeled down for him as he climbed to the cockpit. He felt a new emotion emerge as he gripped the exterior of his new machine: determination. When he reached his destination he found another surprise waiting for him. There were two seats and two sets of controls.

"Why are there two pilot's seats here?"

"One good pilot is fine, but two pilots controlling separate aspects of the machine while working in perfect synch would nearly triple the efficiency of the machine. Your mother understood this and chose your father to pilot with her. Soon you'll also have to choose someone to trust your life with," he said with a smile.

Ao blushed at the double-meaning as thoughts of a certain someone filled his head. He shook it off.

"Why don't you come back down here? I have one more thing to give you."

Ao hopped down from the new unit and walked over to Aeterna. The man placed a small device in his hand. The strange contraption had three screens arranged in a triangular formation with a handle at the bottom and a dark blue and grey cover on the top.

"What is it?"

"It's called a Compact Drive. It belonged to your parents and it will help you interface with the Nirvash."

"Another memento from Mother… Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said, still smiling, "and one more thing. I said that some of your questions about your family would be answered."

"Oh, I almost forgot. What can you tell me about them?"

"I can't tell you anything directly, but I can tell you how you can find them."

Ao's heart clenched in his chest. To finally meet his parents… his mother…. To find them again was worth anything.

"How can I find them?" he asked wistfully.

"That rescue company, Génération Bleu are responsible for purging Secrets from this world, and unofficially, they are dedicated to finding the Mark 1's lost pilot; your mother. If you join up with them, then there's a good chance that you'll find her," he said with a wink.

Ao was a little disappointed. Sure, this was the most he had ever had to go on, but he wished that the man would have been able to tell him more.

"Hey, don't look so down. You'll find her. I have faith in you," the man said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I think I'd like to leave now. I want to see if everyone is all right after the Secret's rampage."

"Of course. Like I said before, you can come and go at any time through the door behind you. This time, I think I'll let you out into that cave you like to visit on the south side of the island. That would make a good hiding place, don't you think?"

"You can do that?"

"The Scub is rooted deeply under the island now. I could deposit you anywhere I wanted to. Now go back to your friends and family. I'm sure they are worried about you."

"R-Right."

He turned around to spot a hanger door this time. It was big enough to fit the Nirvash through. When he turned back around to say goodbye to the man, he found that he was gone.

**Iwato Island South Cave**

Ao and the Nirvash emerged from the wall at the back of the cave in a waterfall of rainbow light. Hopping down from the machine, he looked outside to find that it was almost morning. He really wanted to just lie down in the water and take a nap, but he knew he had to go see if everything was okay back home.

It had been a really long night…

**A/N:**

**Oh God, that last conversation was painful to write. I'm very unsatisfied with the way that turned out and I'll be sure to edit and update it later. This is still a whole lot of fun to write and I'd never stop for something so trivial. By the way, if you want to know what the new Nirvash looks like, then I'll tell you that it looks similar to the Mark 1 did with Truth's Archetype only with more of the Type ZERO carried over. As always, please leave a suggestion if you have one and point out any grammatical errors or spelling mistakes if you see them. Help me out, guys. Please? ;_;**


	5. Suppression

**Disclaimer: This series and its characters belong to BONES Animation Studios**

"Speech"/_'Thoughts'_

**Génération Bleu Battleship: Triton**

"Our apologies," the SDF officer said over the Com. Screen, "but the government is currently unwilling to give you access to the Scub Coral. This is the second piece of priceless Coral that our country has managed to acquire and we cannot allow you to take it from us because of an enemy who may or may not appear. Good day."

As the screen closed, Ivica rubbed his temples in frustration "Those fools. Don't they realize how dangerous this is?"

"It doesn't matter," Rebecka said from his left, "We don't have clearance to deploy and take the Quartz for risk of cutting off relations with the Okinawan Union."

"As long as the Scub Coral remains active, the Secrets will continue to appear. They'll wind up dead if they keep us from acting."

**Iwato Island (Fukai Residence)**

Ao approached the building from the front gate as he would on any other day. To him, it really was like returning home from a long journey after how hectic the past few hours had been.

'_That's right,' _he thought_, 'I should be starting middle school today. I was going to wake up extra early to pick up… Naru.' _He wiped the tears from his eyes as now was neither the time nor the place for such thoughts. He would lament over the loss of his normal life later, when he was in private.

His tumultuous thoughts were brought to a sudden halt when he heard an unfamiliar voice coming from his front yard. He peered around his fence and gasped as he saw several uniformed SDF soldiers talking to his Grandfather.

"Where's the kid, Dr. Fukai?" the lead soldier said, "He's caused a lot of problems for this island and he must answer for that."

"I have no idea where that boy is, Lieutenant," Toshio replied, exasperated. Several people had come to bug him about his child in the past hour and this group of soldiers was only the latest in a long line. "I was going to go look for him myself if you'd be kind enough to move out of my way."

"I can't stop you from doing so, but I have to warn you that lack of cooperation will not be tolerated in the future. We have eyewitness reports by several of the Japanese soldiers we saved placing that boy in that IFO."

Toshio's eyes widened as he heard that. Could that son of his really have piloted that IFO or had his mother finally returned and these soldiers were lying?

When Ao himself heard that, he knew that he couldn't stay at his grandfather's house or he would be captured by the SDF. As he ran he caught a quick glimpse of himself in a mirror as he ran away. His mind registered an absence of the color brown on his person and he slowly stepped back to a shocking sight. His once brown locks had now been replaced by those of a turquoise color. He almost collapsed to his knees as another memory shook his entire being.

'_His mother was sitting there on the steps of the Fukai household, a bottle of thick, brown fluid in one hand and a thin comb in her other as she continually brushed the fluid through her hair, changing its color from its natural blue. She was changing herself, hiding her identity, and it was all for his sake.'_

He couldn't stop the tears from falling from his eyes this time. He ran from the world to the only place that he could know peace, even if it was only for a short time.

**Iwato Island Central Clinic**

Naru jerked awake in her chair. After arriving at the clinic, Dr. Fukai had patched up the entire family and dismissed them to wait in one of the tents outside so that other patients in worse condition could be treated. The SDF wouldn't let them leave the clinic until Gen. Bleu assured them it was safe so she had sat down in a chair and dozed off for a while. She had dreamed of Ao fighting the G-Monster in the Sea Giant that had been part of the island's legends for centuries. It had been the same one that had protected her all of those years ago. She was sure of it.

The cause of her awakening was just outside the tent. She could hear her father talking to some other men outside, so she leaned in close to the side to hear what they were talking about.

"The SDF is looking for that kid," one of the men said, "They think he piloted the Sea Giant. If they find him, they'll take him into custody and they might use him to ward off our enemies."

"We can't let that happen," another man said, "If he's captured then they'll let him stay here and we won't even be able to get near him."

"Then we'll just have to find him before the SDF does," Mitsuo said, "Scour the island for him, and if you find him don't be too rough. We shouldn't hurt him. Bring him to Kazuyuki so he can convince him to leave. If any of you should have doubts, then remember that this is for the sake of the island and for our children."

Naru had already fled the tent by the time Mitsuo had returned, searching for the friend that she had held so close to her heart.

She searched all of his usual spots until only one remained.

"There's only one place left. I've searched everywhere else," Naru said with desperation in her voice.

**Iwato Island Lighthouse Area**

Ao stood on the beach looking out into the horizon and breathing in the crisp ocean air. It had been like this since he had been a child. Whenever he would get upset or angry, he would come to the ocean and mull things over either in the water or sitting on the beach. He had come to love the ocean just like the island itself… but the island didn't love him. The people there hated his mother and didn't trust him even though he was born here like the rest of them. To them, he was an anomaly and it was better that he left their sight as soon as possible.

His sorrowful thoughts were interrupted when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned to see his best friend standing there looking at him with tears in her eyes. He was about to say something when she ran forward and embraced him. Her body felt warm against his.

"You idiot," she said with both happiness and sorrow in her voice, "I was so worried about you. The whole island is looking for you. I thought they might have caught you already."

He returned the hug while saying, "Naru… I'm sorry…"

They pulled apart shortly afterward and both turned toward the sea, hand in hand.

"I dreamed about you," Naru said, "I saw your fight with the G-Monster. I saw how badly you wanted to protect the island and what you what you went through to do it. The others should be treating you as a hero."

"They don't understand what's happening to them and they can only see their own misfortune," he replied, "They need something to blame. An easy way out. It used to be my mother, but she's gone now and they have only me."

"Several years ago, I was protected by the Sea Giant during the Scub Burst, and last night, I was protected once again… by you. You were the Sea Giant, Ao. Thank You."

He thought for a moment before saying, "Would you like to see it?"

Her eyes widened, "You would show me?"

"Of course. It's in that cave we used to play in when we were children. We can go now if you'd like," he said, the thought of it bringing a smile to his face.

"I'd like that a lot, Ao. Let's go," she said returning his smile.

Ao was about to turn and lead the way, but his arms were suddenly restrained by another pair of arms.

"Huh?! AGH!"

He struggled and fought, but the other man was stronger and he couldn't break free from his grasp. He turned his head sideways to see Naru just barely being restrained by her father and yelling out his name as she struggled to break his hold on her. Both of their efforts were for naught, however, as he was being dragged away.

**Iwato Island South Cave (Nirvash Hiding Spot)**

"Ah, I thought it might be here," Gazelle said as he ran his hand along the dark grey surface of the machine, "We used to play here as kids. Only certain islanders know about this spot. It really is the perfect hiding place."

After escaping the wreckage of the Shimokita, Gazelle and his group had been spying on Gen. Bleu's IFOs. Apparently they were still in talks with the Okinawan government regarding their ownership of the Scub Coral, and the two machines remained stationary. Deciding that it wasn't worth it to watch them anymore, Gazelle decided to search for the Mark 1 instead. Even though the boy didn't know it, Gazelle had been watching Ao from afar in disapproval of the islander's mistreatment of him. So he knew a lot of the places the boy would choose to hide things and this was a big one. After all, he and the boys had played here as kids once too.

"It's odd though," Han said, trying unsuccessfully to break the cockpit's access codes, "It looks different from before, at least, from what I could make out."

"They said that this thing "entered" the Scub Coral," Pippo, added while watching the entrance, "Maybe something happened to it while it was in there."

"Either way," Gazelle said, removing his hand from the machine, "It doesn't look like we can do anything more here."

"So, what should we do then?" Han asked.

"Well it's obvious, isn't it?" Gazelle said with a smile, "Let's go get the guy who can move this thing."

**Iwato Island Coastal Town **

Ao found himself seated in a chair, his wrists bound to its legs, and the room around him almost completely dark aside from the light coming in through the window. Sitting in front of him was a man with a kind face who was playing his Sanshin quietly. This man was a famous musical talent on the island. His name was Kazuyuki Kaneshiro, and he was a major proponent of peace. Some of the men had wanted to hurt Ao, to take out their angers and frustrations on him, but Kaneshiro had stopped them. Silence ensued as the man finished his piece and placed his Sanshin on the ground.

"Ao Fukai, correct?" he spoke, his voice melodic, "Why don't you tell us where you hid the Sea Giant?"

"The Giant? What are you talking about?" Ao said angrily, "Why do you keep thinking that I had something to do with this?!"

"Why?" the man said, his eyes darkening, "With the island in its current state, we can no longer ignore your presence."

"What?"

"Thirteen years ago, your mother fell from the sky and gave birth to you. The other islanders feared her because she was an unknown factor, an anomaly. Soon after this event, their fear was realized in the worst way in the form of the Scub Burst that hit the main island of Okinawa. Once she disappeared, the Burst ended and the people began to think that she had brought the Scub here to begin with."

Ao's eyes widened and his heart clenched again at the hardship his mother endured. "So, what should I do then?"

"You can do only one thing that will satisfy the peoples of this island. You must leave."

"But this island is my home! I was born here with the rest of you!"

"Calm yourself!" Kaneshiro shouted, "I understand your feelings boy, but these men and women will settle for nothing less. Hell, they even wanted to sell you to the Japanese! If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't even have a choice. So, you must leave or you will be made to leave on much less pleasant terms.

Ao looked down at his feet. _'It seems that I'll always be hated… All I ever wanted to do was live here in peace, but I guess that isn't an option now.'_

**Iwato Island Civilian Shelters**

Mitsuo was having a rough time of it trying to keep his daughter from leaving to go look for that boy. She had been trying to get out ever since he had dragged her here. Why did she care so much for an outsider?

"Your mother died in the Scub Burst all of those years ago! Am I supposed to ignore that!" he yelled while trying to keep her from slipping past him.

"Father! Why must you blame everything on Ao! There's no way that he is the cause of all of this!"

"Him and his mother were the ones who brought that disaster with them, whether they meant to or not."

"You have no way of knowing that! You're wrong!" She yelled into his face before stomping off.

**Iwato Island (Kazuyuki Residence)**

Of all the things that could happen from that point onward, a car crashing through the wall behind him was certainly not the first thought in his head. He was thrown forward, land on his face with the back of the chair towards the ceiling. Thankfully he could feel someone untying the ropes around his wrists. "There you go, kid." He stood up to find that it was Gazelle who had done the job.

"You really have a thing for entrances don't you?"

"I try, I try. Anyway, don't listen to these idiots. There's no way you're the cause of this islands problems. Come with me, kid."

"Jirou! What do you think you're doing?!" Kaneshiro said as he rose from the rubble "I could have handed that kid over to the Japanese army and secure independence, but I gave him a choice! I would have let him leave on his own!"

"Jirou?"

"You didn't I was actually named Gazelle, did you? And, as for you, you foolish old man, you just Listen up! You know why we bullied this kid? We did it only because the adults told us to! 'He's an alien, a foreigner.' You know you handled neither the Scub Burst nor the issues of our independence in the best way!"

At this point, Kaneshiro's men were looking away in shame, and the man himself was steaming. "What would you know about our government's policies?!"

"I haven't just been goofing off in all these years away from home like you seem to think. I've studied the original charter for our independence. Sure, officially it makes us an independent nation, but we still have to give the mainland a large amount of our goods and services every year. You have no right to judge this boy, when you would sell out our nation rather than fighting for it like he has!"

Kaneshiro cooled down after that. He no longer had the heart to argue after his and his government's sin had been so plainly laid out before him. Ao and Gazelle were free to ride out of there in the undamaged FP.

"That father of mine disgusts me!" Gazelle said loudly, "We should achieve independence through our own power! Him even considering selling out a kid is disgraceful."

"Was it really such a good idea to damage your own house?" Pippo asked nervously.

"It's not my house anymore. It stopped being my house a long time ago," Gazelle replied, sighing.

"Um…" Ao said tentatively, "Thank you for getting me out of there…"

"Hey it's no problem, kid. You didn't deserve that kind of treatment, especially from him."

"Can I ask why?"

"Well, originally I was going to ask you to help us achieve independence with that IFO of yours, but now I don't think you'd be so eager. Now, I guess I'm doing this as a sort of apology."

"An apology?"

"Yeah, I said it before, didn't I? There was a time when we thought along the same lines as everyone else. We bullied you and your mother just because you were different and for that, I wanted to apologize. Getting you away from the old man is best I can do for now, I'm afraid," he said, his lips curving into a smile, "I'll drop you off back at your house. Okay, kid?"

"Yeah… thanks…"

**Iwato Island SDF Outpost (Scub Coral Site)**

"Damned monster… It'll take years to rebuild it all," said the SDF officer surveying the ruined town.

"Sir!" one of his aids exclaimed, running up to him, "We've been getting massive energy readings on the radar. It looks like a G-Monster is appearing!"

"No… Contact the Triton!"

**Génération Bleu Battleship: Triton**

"We could never have guessed that it would appear this soon," the SDF officer said over the Com, "What can we do?"

"Our HQ is working up a new contract with your government. You understand that steps to "remove" the Secret must be taken? Are you alright with that?" asked Rebecka, relieved to finally take action.

"…I'm counting on you…" the SDF officer returned, "I'm officially requesting your help."

"Leave it to us," Rebecka said with a smile. Changing the Com, she said, "Fleur, Elena? Are you ready?"

"It's about time!" Fleur replied.

"We'll begin as soon as the Secret appears," Elena said.

"It's in your hands now," Ivica told them, "Good luck."

"Got it! We'll handle it to the best of our ability."

**Iwato Island (Fukai Residence)**

Ao returned home to find that the islanders had left a nice surprise for him: graffiti splattered all over the outside walls of the house. All of it was saying something to the effect of "Alien! Disappear!"

"Ao!" He turned to see Toshio walking up to him with a backpack on his back.

"Grandfather! Are you okay?" he asked in reference to the men from earlier.

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine, but it's dangerous for you here now. Let's go to the evacuation site."

"Why are they doing this?" he asked, looking down. "Huh?" He was surprised as Toshio gripped his shoulders.

"Ao, don't hate them. You mustn't hate them."

"What?"

"Ever since the Scub Coral arrived, the feelings on this island have been a mess of money, independence, territorial issues… It's driven us apart from each other, but our love for the island hasn't changed and we all want to protect it."

"So, what should I do?"

"That is your decision."

He took a photo from his white coat and handed it to him. On it, he recognized himself as a child and his mother holding his hand and smiling joyfully.

"Your mother was the same way." He looked up. "Even though the island hated her, she continued to fight it and for you. So, the real question is: what will you do, Ao?"

"I-I…"

He couldn't say anymore as a colossal burst of rainbow light erupted in the sky. When it subsided, a long, black and red structure was present in its place. It was gigantic, covering the land below in shadows, and it wasn't unlike an airship that the Allied Forces used only much larger and certainly sleeker.

"Another Secret…"

He almost didn't notice the child gripping his arm. He turned to see a little boy standing behind him, his eyes filled with tears. "Hey, you're the Sea Giant, right? Aren't you going to go and beat that thing?"

"Hey! Stay away from that kid! He's dangerous!" a woman who was probably the boy's mother shouted while running up to take him away. The child, however, just turned around and yelled right back at the woman, "No he's not! He's the Sea Giant! The Sea Giant loves and protects this island! He will save us!"

Ao blinked in surprise at the display. It suddenly hit him, what was truly important. It brought up another memory in his mind. It was of his mother teaching him that to love something was to be filled with happiness. _'Even if some may hate me, I have others on this island whom I love and some who might love me as well. I… I want to protect them.'_

"Grandfather," he said, his eyes filled with determination, "I finally understand. I'm sick of people hating me, but people would hate me even more if I stood back and let these things destroy the island. I want to protect the people I love that live on this island and I want to protect my home. I still… love this island."

"Ao?"

"I'm sorry Grandfather, but I have to go. Please leave this place if you can." With that said, he ran off in the direction of his fate and unfortunately, he couldn't see Kaneshiro around the corner and leaning on a wall, eyes closed and a smile on his face.

**Iwato Island Civilian Shelters**

"Sis!" Naru heard her sister call out, waking her from her stupor. "Sis, are you okay?" Miyu asked a look of clear concern on her face.

"Yes, I'm fine. I've just got a really bad feeling." That was an understatement to her. Her Yuta powers had activated again and in the future, she saw a terrifying emptiness. Like everything would soon end.

She took her sister's hand and led her along the road to the evacuation area. The SDF thought that this Secret would cause such great damage to the island that the entire island needed to be evacuated.

"Naru!" she heard a call from her side. It was Dr. Fukai.

"Dr. Fukai," she said, looking around, "Um… Where's Ao?"

"He ran off talking about protecting the island. He'll probably be headed toward the Sea Giant right now."

'_No…'_

"I have to go find him. Please take care of Miyu!" she called out as she ran off to the place Ao had told her about.

'_Ao… I won't let you do this alone.'_

**Iwato Island South Cave**

"Damn!" Gazelle yelled, kicking the side of the machine.

"What are you trying to do?!" Han said as he continued his attempts to hack the cockpit.

"I just want to get in this thing and fight!" Gazelle called out, "That G-Monster could erase this island at any moment, and the burden of fighting is too much to place on the shoulders of one kid."

"How do you plan on doing that? He has the key to make it work." Pippo said to his right.

"Well, if the techie would hurry up and hack this thing, then we might be able to do something!"

"Hey! It's not my fault! This thing keeps changing its code every time I get close. It's like it knows what I'm doing," Han said, exasperated.

"That's because he does." The voice came from behind them.

The three turned to see Ao entering the cave.

"Ao?"

"Gazelle, I finally understand. I love this island and its people and I want to fight for them."

"So, you finally figured it out, huh… what's worth fighting for."

"Yeah."

The boy climbed up to the cockpit, the hatch opening for him automatically and the machine's computers starting up.

Han scratched his head in confusion. "How?"

"He recognizes me," Ao said simply.

"He?"

"The Nirvash."

He buckled himself into the left side pilot seat and picked up the Compact Drive that he had left in the cockpit when he went back to his home. _'He said it would help me interface with the machine, but how?'_

"Ao, you idiot!" He looked up in surprise to find Naru standing above him looking down through a large hole in the cave's ceiling. "Naru?"

"Where do you think you're running off to by yourself?!"

"Huh?"

"I had a bad feeling not too long ago, like the future was empty and you were going to disappear forever, so… Take me with you!" She was looking at him desperately.

"What?! I'm not-" He stopped himself. He felt the Nirvash's feelings wash over him. He wanted Ao to take her with them and felt that she would be able to help him. They had been friends for years, so they should be able to work in tandem, right? He realized that he also wanted her to come along and be his co-pilot, despite how much he hated to admit it.

"Ao?" He had been silent for a long time.

"Alright," he said, reaching his hand up to help her down, "Come and fly with me."

She buckled herself into the right side pilot's seat as Ao gave her a brief rundown of the controls.

"I was told that if we worked in synch, that we would be three times more effective than if just a single person was piloting, but we've never done this before so I'll do most of it, okay?"

"Okay, Ao, but you have to promise that we'll do it half-and-half later."

"I promise," he chuckled, as he set the Synch Ratio to 80%/20%, "There. That should be good for now. Let's go, Naru!"

"Okay!" she said, pulling the lever in the center of the cockpit. The machine rose into the air and converted into its elongated jet mode before blasting out of the cave at full speed.

Gazelle's group looked on as the two children made their way toward a new future.

**A/N:**

**Yeah, the snow disaster that hit my home town is over, so I won't be putting these out as frequently as I was before. I do apologize, but I can only spend so much time writing when I have other things to work on and time for myself to rest. Originally, this chapter was going to be longer, and it was going to include the second fight, the meeting between the four pilots, and the decision to join Gen. Bleu, but I don't have the will to write that right now. I'll get to it in the next chapter and I'll include the introduction to the Gen. Bleu headquarters and possibly the third Secret battle, but that might be pushing the word count to its limit. So, if you'll notice, I completely ignored the scenes from the anime and went with the manga instead. Eventually I'll have to switch back over, but it is so much easier to deal with dialogue when it's in a written form and I don't have to use a video streamer. I guess it's as good a time as any to say that I'm going to rework Elena Peoples' backstory. I kinda feel like BONES was leaning toward the direction that I'm going to take her in, but changed at the last moment. Also, the Nirvash will have a tank/car mode like the original. What use it will be, I don't know, but it'll have one. As always, please post a suggestion if you have one, and please point out any grammer or spelling mistakes you see so that I can correct them.**


	6. Child Soldiers

**A/N: I'm really sorry for making you guys wait, but I'm really bad at balancing my hobbies. I express my sincerest apologies to MEleeSmasher who I lied to several times about when this was going to be updated. Well you've waited long enough, so here it is.**

**Disclaimer: This series and its characters belong to BONES Animation Studios**

"Speech"/_'Thoughts'_

**Iwato Island Scub Coral (The Zone)**

"He's finally taken to the skies with his chosen one," Aeterna said, smiling, "This will be the beginning of his journey."

"With the help of your influence, no doubt," said the woman behind him, her voice not unkind.

"I had nothing to do with that. It was the Nirvash. It allowed him to see his own desire, his need for companionship."

"Well, I still don't like the idea of bringing another innocent child into this."

"You know that he cannot finish this without her. I've done all that I could to ease her transition to the battlefield, but, in the end, he needs her. He hasn't the strength to fight them on his own."

"I know," she replied, sighing, "Let's just hope that they can pull off an Awakening."

"If he realizes the purpose of the Compact Drive, then it shouldn't be too much of a problem. They'll need to perform it eventually, but a slight delay won't harm the Contact too much."

"I guess I'm just sentimental," she laughed, "He would be just like his father."

"Hm. We'll see."

**Iwato Island Coastal Airspace**

"Agh!" Ao grunted as the Nirvash swerved to the side at an odd angle, throwing him off balance. It seemed that his decision to set the Synch Ratio so high on his side had been a mistake as Naru was actually managing to _over-pilot_ on her side.

'_How could she already be this good at flying? She's never even flown an FP before!' _he thought, reaching over to set the Synch Ratio to 65%/35%. That seemed to even things out a bit more. He would tinker with it later.

"There, we should fly a little smoother now," Ao said, a grin appearing on his face, "Looks like I underestimated you, huh?"

"I guess," Naru said with a frown, "I don't really know why I have these skills. It's like I always knew how to pilot this thing. It's like an instinct, but I couldn't tell you why it's there."

"Naru… cheer up."

"Huh?"

"Don't worry about it. Whatever it is, we'll figure it out later. As long as it helps us save the island, then we shouldn't be so gloomy about it, right?"

"Ao, I'm not worried, I'm just… uneasy about all of this."

Before he could say any more, a radar screen popped up in front of Naru. "It's looks like we're close to the G-Monster. It's moving closer to the Scub. Also, it looks like there are two other mecha nearby, but they're coming at the Monster from the other side," she said, the calm of her voice easing some of his nerves.

"Alright, let's shift modes and fight him up close."

Both of them were scared, but each of them wanted to put on a brave face for the other who they knew was hiding their own fear. It wasn't the best situation to enter combat, but they had no choice. At least they were supporting each other which would be the key to their survival.

Ao pushed the lever on the center console to the first position, activating the Nirvash's transformation into its humanoid form. He pulled up the armaments list and brought out its two main weapons: a pair of auto-firing rail guns. He and Naru both tilted the joysticks downward, pulling them into a straight dive towards the Secret.

Meanwhile, The Alleluia and the Kyrie were rapidly approaching the Secret as well when they caught sight of the Nirvash.

"What's that?" Fleur asked, pulling up a zoomed-in view of the machine, "It looks somewhat like the Mark 1, but it can't be. I saw it swallowed by that Scub Coral."

"It is the Mark 1," Elena replied, clearly interested.

"What? How can that be?"

"It's giving off the same IDC, but this time, it's identifying itself as 'RA272 Nirvash spec-2.' Do you know what that means?"

"I've never heard that name before. What's going on?"

"I have," said Ivica, over the Com, "Nirvash was Eureka's name for the Mark 1. I'm surprised to hear it after all of this time, especially since no country ever publicly acknowledged that as the machine's true name. As for the other identifier, your guess is as good as mine."

"The term spec-2, likely means 'Specification 2,'" Georg said, popping up in the OS, "In other words, an upgraded model based on the original design."

"Whatever the case," Ivica responded, "we still don't know who the pilot is. Do not engage in active hostilities unless the… Nirvash shows them toward us or the Scub Coral. You are to work with it to destroy the Secret. Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir," they both replied.

"I can't believe we get to fight with the Mark 1!" Elena exclaimed, giddily.

"I'll try and radio him once we get close enough. Maybe we can finally learn just what the hell is going on around here," Fleur said while sighing at her partner's enthusiasm.

Ao grunted as the two of them pulled out of the dive. The enigmatic creature was directly in front of them, moving at a quickened pace toward its ultimate objective. He transferred navigation control to Naru and narrowed his eyes, taking aim at the dark giant.

'_I'm not afraid. This is for the island. Naru is even with me,' _he thought, taking a deep breath and lining up his shot. Before he could pull the triggers, they were hit hard from the side. Recovering, he looked up to see a familiar looking foe.

"It's the same as before!" he exclaimed, identifying the creature as the same on he had fought previously, "How can this be?"

To his surprise, another one appeared next the one that had just attacked and yet another to its other side. Soon, they were completely surrounded by these smaller creatures.

"Ao, we have to get out of here!" Naru said, "I'm seeing hundreds of them on the radar. There's no way we can take them all on; you barely survived the last one!"

'_I can't let my vision come true,' _she thought,_ 'I can't let him disappear forever...'_

Ao would have responded, but the Secrets suddenly began to rush them. They quickly dodged several incoming attacks and made a break for it, bursting through the cloud of enemies. Heading for the "carrier," they swung the Nirvash all around the colossal creature, the smaller Secrets following them move for move. Soon the smaller ones caught up to them and began to circle the Nirvash. One of them came forward to slash at the Nirvash. They dodged to side... into the path of another Secret's attack.

One after another would quickly break from the swarm to strike the Nirvash's armor. The two pilots had no time to react. They were taking serious damage.

"We're completely surrounded! We can't- AGH!"

They were both thrown forward as another Secret struck them from behind, the safety harness being the only thing that saved them from impacting the consoles in front of them. Ao felt something on his lap. He looked down to see the Compact Drive. It must have fallen out of his pocket with all of the turbulence from the wind and the Secrets.

'_He said it would help me interface with the Nirvash, but how?' _he thought. He transferred full control to Naru and started looking around the cockpit.

"Ao! What are you doing?! I can't do this myself!" Naru shouted at him while tilting the joysticks to the right to dodge another Secret coming at them, just barely getting away.

"I'm sorry, but I need you to hold on for just a little longer. I need to check something," he attempted to reassure her as he continued searching.

"Well, hurry up!"

He nodded to her and as he lowered his head, he spotted something. His eyes finally settled on a handle that was in the center console, just behind the mode shifter, between him and Naru. It was slightly ajar and it had a hole at the end of it as if something was meant to be inserted there. "Well, here goes nothing," he said inserting the Compact Drive into the hole and moving the handle to its upright position.

The effect was immediate. The Drive lit up with bright, lavender light and on the monitor, the Synch Ratio now changed to Synch Percentage and read 73.32%. His eyes widened as the word Eureka spread across the surface of the Drive before swiftly being replaced by two words: Astral Ocean. Outside of the cockpit, the Nirvash began glowing and emitting spreading bright particles through the air, causing the Secrets to back away from their target, cautious of this new development.

"Ao, what's happening?" Naru asked, suddenly panicked. He looked over to see her slowly waving a hand in front of her face, and her eyes were now... lavender? "I can see... light. It's in the wind and... we're being carried by it like... waves on the ocean..."

'_It sounds like she's talking about Trapar... But, I thought...'_

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by an urging in his mind; an urging to rapidly change direction and climb. Pulling up a rear view, he saw the very attack he had anticipated moments before. One of the Secrets had become bold and decided to attack while they had been stationary. The confusing aspect of the situation was that his fellow pilot had reacted at the same time that he had. He had no time to ask about it, however, as the Secrets came after him again.

He had no idea what the Compact Drive had done, but now they apparently shared the controls equally now. Flying, which had previously been an awkward balancing act, was now a natural experience. Naru was somehow following his movements almost exactly. They shared an invisible link which could not be defined. It was almost as if their minds were one. With the new-found "Boomerang Knives," the pair was able to destroy several Secrets in between their bouts of high-speed dodging.

This dramatic change in performance was noticed by Fleur and Elena who had just arrived on the battlefield.

"Well he seems to be doing a lot better. I was worried there for a moment," Fleur said in admiration, "He's doing pretty good for a rookie."

"What's say we give him a hand?" Elena said cheerfully.

"Yeah, he looks like he could use it."

Ao and Naru were still deep in the swarm.

"There's no end to these things! At this rate, the Secret will reach the Scub Coral before we land a single hit on it!" Ao said in frustration.

"Calm down," Naru said to her fellow pilot, "We need to think of a way to take them all out at once. That way we can focus on the big one and destroy it before it can send out more."

"But, how are we going to do that?"

Naru was about to speak again when they were suddenly surrounded by fire. Every one of the Secrets around them seemed to combust simultaneously. Ao shielded his eyes, Naru doing the same, and when the light cleared on the edge of his vision, he lowered his arm to reveal an impressive sight.

"More IFOs?" he said. Indeed, in front of the Nirvash were two bulky IFOs colored blue and red respectively. Then, the blue one surprised them both by dashing straight for them with both its hands straight forward. Before they could react, it collided with them and proceeded to rapidly push them away from the Secret while the red one turned around, and started bombarding the pursuing Secrets with a LOT of missiles.

With the lack of Trapar under them, the Nirvash had fallen to the ground with the blue IFO standing in front of them. The radar identified it as the "RA164 Alleluia" and the other one as the "RA301 Kyrie." Ao noticed a Com window pop up and responded, switching to visual communication this time. An image of a helmeted female pilot appeared on their screens.

Fleur, on the other hand, was quite surprised to get not one, but two feeds showing two different people. That couldn't be right, but both signals were coming from the same machine, at least according to her IFO's computers they were.

"Eh? Is it a malfunction, or are there two pilots in the same machine?" she inquired, curious as to how this situation had come up in the first place.

The boy with the blue hair and violet eyes responded first. "It would take longer than we have to explain everything to you. Yes, the Nirvash has two pilot's seats," he said, sighing.

"Right... Well, anyway, what were you thinking fighting within the Z.O.A.?!" she chastised.

"Z.O.A.?" the two questioned in unison. Fleur thought it was kind of cute.

"Zone out of Action. It's the area around the Secret. IFOs remain undetectable for less than half of a minute before it becomes aware of our presence and starts attacking again. We don't typically fight in the Z.O.A. because of how dangerous it is to get close. Did you really come into combat without knowing even that?"

"We didn't have a choice! It'll destroy the island if we don't act!" It was the girl this time. She had black hair and... bright, lavender eyes? _'How mysterious...'_

"Well, we should have it covered, so why don't you two hang back for now?"

"Actually," Elena said, popping up on the Com Screen, "We... kind of... need... their help... Too much... cannon... fodder." She was twisting through the air in all different directions to avoid the little ones while firing at them with her cannons. It took a great deal of her concentration, leaving her with little time to speak.

The... Nirvash stood up behind her and the blue-haired boy spoke once again, "We couldn't get a clear shot at that thing before because of the little ones. If you can distract them, we can get in close and destroy that thing before it reaches the Scub Coral."

She was, once again, surprised. The boy's plan had some sense to it, but they would only work as the spearhead if their weapons were strong enough. "Georg?"

"We've run through the data, and it looks like his plan is completely feasible. The main weapons of the Nirvash are rail rifles. The closer they are to the target, the more force will be exuded on the target, and thus the more damage will be done," Georg said from the OS.

"Alright, do it," Ivica said.

"What? You're trusting the lives of the children to the idea of some rookie pilot that just so happened to climb into an IFO?!" Rebecka said angrily.

"Don't you remember the most important thing during one of our missions?"

"Huh?"

"My number one priority is: Don't let the children die. Right now, I see the boy's plan as the best way to carry out that priority."

Rebecka sat back down, having no counter to his argument. She was slightly ashamed of herself for even momentarily losing faith in Ivica.

Upon receiving confirmation from her commander, Fleur flipped her visor back down and started her engines back up.

"By the way, you two," she said, "My name is Fleur Blanc and I'm from Génération Bleu's IFO team, Pied Piper. Who are you guys?"

"I'm Ao Fukai," the boy replied indifferently.

"'Deep Blue?' Seriously?"

He lowered his eyebrows and frowned at her.

His companion laughed and introduced herself as well, "I'm Naru Arata. We're both just residents of this island."

"Yet you can pilot that IFO proficiently?" she asked, skeptical.

"I've been able to fly an FP since I was six, and the controls are similar enough. We should move on though, or your partner might kill us herself," Ao said passively while brushing off the fact that Naru hadn't had any experience with FPs. He had to remember to ask about that later.

"Alright, but be careful, you two," she said seriously, "I won't accept failure from either of you with this much at stake."

With that said, the two IFOs launched into the air, the Alleluia speeding off to join the Kyrie and the Nirvash hanging high in the air, mounting its rifles and waiting for the right moment. The two Gen. Bleu pilots were curving through the air with much grace and prowess showing off the skills they had gained throughout their years of combat. They both fired of their cannons destroying countless enemies all while dodging the shots and slashes from the others. It was a truly remarkable sight to behold for the two pilots.

"I've outlined the path for you to take," Fleur said over the radio, "Be sure to take it out in a few seconds, before the enemy notices you!"

"Ao, it's time to make our move."

Shaking the sight of the two machines out of his head, Ao joined Naru in executing a downward dive, straight for the top of the creature. They matched each other near perfectly as they landed hard on the smooth surface, reattaching the halves of the Lift-Board to the machine's shoulders. Then, with a fierce cry, they pointed the rifles downward and fired. Continuing to fire, the two accelerated down the spine of the creature using the wheels on the Nirvash's feet. Once they reached the other end, they threw the recombined board into the air and leapt from the creature, leaving it riddled with bullet holes. The three IFOs flew a great distance away as the sky lit up again with the explosion of the creature, its absence rendering all other Secrets in the area inert.

**Iwato Island Central Clinic**

"Dr. Fukai?" a voice asked from behind him.

Toshio had recently finished treating the last of the patients from last night's attack and he was now sitting behind a desk, resting. Suffice to say, he was not happy to receive visitors at the moment, but he put on his best face and stood to greet the approaching pair. In front of him, he saw a stocky man with orange hair and a moustache and a young woman with her dark red hair tied back into a messy arrangement. They were both wearing the same uniform of black pants and a red jacket over a dress shirt.

"What do you want? I'm afraid I must return to my home soon and wait for news on my son," He said, wearily.

"I'm Ivica Tanović and this is Rebecka Hallström. We are from Génération Bleu, and your son is actually the reason we're here," the orange-haired man replied, getting straight to the point.

"What do you want with him?" he asked, eyes narrowing behind his glasses, "Are you here to take him away? ...to force him to leave his home?"

"Whether he wants to leave is entirely his choice. Right now, I want merely to ask... Is he the son of Eureka?"

Toshio was momentarily startled. In all of the years he had kept the boy under his roof, no one from outside the island had ever come to ask about the boy or his parentage even after that event all of those years ago. He knew this day would come eventually, but he didn't expect it so soon.

"He is. What of it?" Toshio responded, not at all liking where this conversation was going.

"Then we'll need you to come with us," the woman named Rebecka said, "The machine he and the girl were piloting landed on a nearby beach. We intend to meet up with him."

"So that was him after all, huh?" Toshio replied before lowering his eyebrows, "but what is this about a girl?"

"One of our pilots reported the machine to have had two seats, one of which was occupied by a girl with black hair and dressed in white clothing."

"That sounds like Naru... If that's the case, then we should depart immediately."

"Doctor Fukai?"

"If the girl is who I think she is, then she has a dangerous lung disease. There's no telling what kind of effect piloting that machine could have on her. We should get her father and leave immediately."

"Ah, well then let us be off."

Then the three of them swiftly departed.

**Iwato Island Coast (Scub Coral Site)**

Gazelle and his pals stood on the edge of the cliff face. They had been watching the battle from nearby the Scub Coral, and it had been just their luck to come across some new information.

"The Scub Coral is growing at a steady rate," Han said from his computer screen. "That's not the only thing. Look at this," Gazelle said, holding his tablet up and zooming in on a crevice situated in the center of the Scub Coral.

On the screen, Gen. Bleu's IFOs were shown lifting something out of the Coral. "What in the world are they doing?" Zooming in closer, he caught a glimpse of the object the machines were lifting. It appeared to be some sort of glowing green cube with shapes extending outward from its faces.

"Hey... that's the same material that was covering the ECU," Han said, leaning in closer.

"It looks like things are getting interesting," Gazelle said putting the tablet down, "An International Rescue Squad taking mysterious actions behind the scenes."

"What does that mean for us, Boss?" Pippo asked, folding his arms, "Do you want to pursue this?"

"As much as I would like to keep fighting for independence here on the islands, the world is of bigger concern at the moment. If we let those G-Monsters keep running around, there won't be an Okinawan Union for much longer. I say we follow that kid."

"I'll follow you to the end, Boss," Pippo said, "You know that."

"Good to have you on my side. What about you, Han?"

"I'm concerned about what that green material is, and I want to find out more about it. I'll follow you as well," Han said, his hand on his hips.

"Well then, it looks like we'll be joining one of the world's largest and most important companies. This will be interesting."

**Iwato Island Coast**

The Nirvash sat upon the beach, now in its third configuration: a land vehicle resembling something like a mix between a tank and a race car. The cockpit was open and its two pilots were sitting near its front, resting after the battle.

"Can you hear it?" Ao asked his fellow pilot, holding her hand to the cool surface of the Nirvash's armor, "Can you hear his voice?"

Naru closed her eyes, focusing, and listening quietly. After what they had witnessed in the Scub and in the battle, she was willing to believe Ao's claims that this robot was somehow alive. She did feel a foreign presence in her mind. At the moment it was a small feeling, but she could definitely feel emotions that did not belong to her.

_'Joy. Pure, innocent joy. That's what I feel, or rather HE feels.'_

"Ao! Naru!"

The two of them stood up and turned around to see both Toshio and Mitsuo, with Noah holding on to his back, approaching along with two others in uniform. The prior went to check on Naru, while the latter pulled Ao aside to speak with him.

"Fukai Ao? I heard about you from Fleur and Elena," the man with orange hair said to him, "I'm Ivica Tanović, the chief of Pied Piper."

"So, you're from Gen. Bleu? Your job is to fight the Secrets?" Ao asked, knowing the true reason this man was here.

"Yes. I've been searching all around the world for a woman with the same hair color as you, the same one who piloted this IFO years ago," the man said, turning to the Nirvash, "It's been such a long time since I've seen it. It almost feels like I'm looking at an old friend..."

Ao's eyes widened at that. _'An old friend of mother's? Could these people really help me find her?' _he thought, not willing to let this opportunity slip by.

"If you knew my mother, then what can you tell me about her?" Ao inquired, eager to learn anything more about her.

"Ah, I lost myself for a moment didn't I?" he replied, "I'm sorry, and as for your mother, I can't tell you much, I'm afraid. I didn't know her for very long before she disappeared."

"Oh..."

"Ao, I have something to tell you," Toshio interjected, having affirmed Naru's health, "Ten years ago, your mother went to challenge the Scub Burst and never returned from the incident. On the day that she left, she told me to take care of you if something happened to her. I fear that the same thing will happen to you if you continue to ride that machine, so I-"

"I remember," Ao interrupted, Naru coming to stand at his side, "I remember that morning very clearly. It was the last time I saw her face, same as you, Grandfather." He took out the picture that was stuffed in the pocket of his hoodie and ran his hand over it. "I don't know anything about her or about myself, but..." He looked back up at Ivica. "I want to follow her path. If I continue to pilot the Nirvash, then I may be able to find her. Will you let me join Génération Bleu?"

Ivica stared at the kid with a hard look on his face, deliberating. If he said yes, then yet another child would be dragged into a dangerous conflict, but he also had every right to follow this path and find his family. After a moment, he closed his eyes and nodded.

"Are you sure about this, Chief?" Rebecka asked.

"I am. It's his right to want to fight. All we can do now is to keep him safe."

Mitsuo, who had been standing aside for the entire exchange, suddenly said, "Yes, this will also help to quell the islander's fear and anger. The people will feel more comfortable if he is gone."

"Father," Naru spoke cautiously, "I'm going with him... to fight by his side."

"What?! Absolutely not!"

"You can't stop me. No matter how hard you try to keep me from it, I will fight to the end to go with him," Naru said defiantly, staring right into his eyes.

Mitsuo was taken aback, not only at the fact that his own daughter had just refused him, but that the look she was giving him reminded him eerily of his late wife.

"You would go so far for this... this OUTSIDER!" he exclaimed angrily, not one to give up so easily.

"HE'S NO DIFFERENT FROM US!" she practically screamed at him.

He took a step forward to attempt to grab her arm, but before he could, a gigantic hand slammed down in front of him, knocking him back and onto the ground. Everyone looked to see that, despite the fact that its cockpit was empty, the Nirvash had extended the arm that was now separating Naru from her father; its head was also raised slightly, revealing a glowing green eye staring threateningly at the man. Ao could feel the anger radiating from Nirvash even without touching him.

"Ivica," he said, catching the orange haired man's attention, "I don't think Nirvash will move unless Naru comes along."

They both turned back to the argument as Naru stepped from behind the Nirvash's hand to resume speaking to her father who rose to his feet.

"Why can't you understand..." she said weakly, tears in her eyes, "...that I have to go with him. I can't just let him leave alone when I know I could have gone with him and fought alongside him."

"But Naru..." he said softly, "What about your disease?" He was desperate for anything that could keep her there. He had already lost his wife to this conflict, and he didn't want to send his daughter off to her end.

"Haven't you noticed yet, Father?" she said, suddenly smiling, "The disease is gone. I haven't had any trouble breathing for these past few days. I even lost my Breather."

Mitsuo's eyes widened at this statement, but he couldn't deny its accuracy. In the time that he had seen her over the past three days, she had shown no signs of having difficulty breathing and he hadn't seen her use the Breather even once. Plus, the car crash, the running, the IFO piloting, etc. should have caused her to collapse, but she came out of all of it just fine. His mind had noticed it, but he had so many other things to think about, at the time, that he himself hadn't noticed.

He felt torn. His daughter wasn't going to die an early death due to a lethal disease, but now she wanted to leave to join a battle that might lead to her end anyway. He wanted so badly to refuse her, to keep her there on the island and safe from all the dangers of the world, but he knew that it wouldn't work. She was too much like her mother, too stubborn to change her mind. He knew he was going to have to let her go.

"I want you to promise me that you'll be careful and that you'll write to us when you can. Alright?" he said, sighing in defeat.

"I promise," she returned, hugging him, "I love you, Father. I'll miss you."

"I love you too," he said, as the Nirvash retracted its arm and returned to its idle position behind him.

"I'll transfer legal guardianship over to you guys when I get back," he said to Ivica, "I suspect you guys have to be off in a hurry, so I'll pass on the news."

"If there are any medical problems, we'll send her back right away. Also… I'd give my life to protect the children. Your daughter is in good hands," Ivica replied, giving his best reassuring look.

"Do we really have to leave so soon?" Naru asked after releasing her father, "I'd like to say goodbye to my sister and grandmother."

"As much as we would like to give you that opportunity, we need to let our other children rest. This is our second call today, so they're probably exhausted. We need to head back to HQ as soon as possible," Rebecka said sympathetically, "We'll allow you to send a VidCom later, but that's the best we can do."

Ao put a hand on Naru's shoulder and said, "It'll be alright. You'll see them again in no time." She looked up and gave him a sad smile.

"Let's begin loading the Nirvash onto the Triton," Ivica said, watching as his ship landed nearby.

**A/N:**

**You know, I said I was going to write in the intro to G****énération Bleu in this chapter, but I'm already pushing the word limit here and it works better if I just put it in the next chapter. Instead, I put my effort into writing and rewriting different parts of the fight with the Secret and writing the scene where he decides to leave the island. I'm still not entirely happy with that fight scene and I'll probably rewrite it later. Also, for those who wanted to know, members from the original E7 cast will be showing up in later chapters. Not all of them, of course, but I'll include more than just the main two characters instead of assuming that everyone else died like the anime wanted me to. As always, if you have a suggestion, send it to me and please point out any grammar and spelling mistakes so I can correct them.**


	7. Just Another Part of the Family

**Disclaimer: This series and its characters belong to BONES Animation Studios**

"Speech"/_'Thoughts'_

**Unspecified Location:**

"Who are you..." the worker groaned out, falling to the ground in pain. Before him was his attacker, a weasely looking man with black hair; he was also wearing a suit and glasses. He had been working on the reparations when the man had come up to him and pointed his finger directly at the worker's chest. Before he could say anything, there was a hole directly where the man had been pointing.

"Who am I? I'm no one," The man said before his entire being expanded and contracted in place, morphing into a completely different shape. Where an unfavorable looking man had once been, now stood a desirable, violet-haired woman in a revealing red dress. She kneeled to remove the man's pocketbook from his breast pocket before standing back up.

Opening it, she laughed and said, "I'm just like you... I am one who seeks the truth." The man had been a typical journalist, sticking his nose where it didn't belong. He hadn't gathered much information, but still he had to be silenced to ensure her safety.

The woman raised her head to look at horizon beyond. _'It really is a beautiful view...Too bad this land will be covered in flames soon enough,' _she thought, chuckling to herself.

**Génération Bleu Battleship Triton (Switzerland; En Route to Gen. Bleu Headquarters)**

The four pilots were sitting in the crew lounge, attempting to get to know each other a little better. Ao and Naru, Noah in arm, were sitting casually on one side of the table, while, on the other side, Fleur was resting her head against her arm, which was propped up on the table, and Elena was leaning back and smiling at whatever was on the screen of her tablet that she was holding in front of her. In the short time that they had known each other, Ao had surmised that, while cold, Fleur was friendly enough, however, her pink-haired partner was a little... out there...

"I'm Elena Peoples. You two should contract with me and become members of Pied Piper, you know~" she had said, not really paying attention to the situation at hand.

"Is there... Is there something wrong with her?" Naru asked cautiously, not wanting to upset either of them. Ao's confused expression mirrored her own.

"Don't worry about her. She's always like this," Fleur replied, eyes half-open, "We should be arriving soon, so get ready to unload your stuff." Though she seemed disinterested, she was actually just tired at having to fight two battles in such quick succession. She was sure that Elena was also tired, but the energetic girl was much better at hiding it.

Before more could be said, the metallic grates covering the windows slid open to reveal their destination. Outside, Ao and Naru saw a colossal facility built into a mountainside and surrounded by various, equally large upcroppings of Scub Coral.

"Whoa! THIS is your headquarters?" Ao asked, joining Naru in gazing at the titanic structure.

"Génération Bleu is a lot more than just a rescue service or a private arms group. Our HQ is built on the former city of Lauterbrunnen," Fleur said, smiling at the children's reaction to what was such common occurrence to her, "Tourism isn't as big as it once was, but we still get a lot of people on the Jungfrau."

The two children continued to stare out the windows until only the gray walls of the main hanger were visible.

**Génération Bleu Headquarters (President's Office)**

"Do you know what kind of political debacle we're in right now?" Stanley asked heatedly, "Do you know that we have SENTINELS on our backs now? They want the Mark 1 back for God knows what military experiment they have going on and I had to refuse them. Do you know the amount of stress has been put on my back over the past 12 hours?" The man rubbed his forehead and sighed.

"Yes, I know, and I apologize, but you know that we can't just hand the Mark 1 back to the Allied Forces," Christophe replied from behind his desk, holding his hands up, "That machine has been the most effective weapon we've had against the Secrets up to this point, especially with 'that woman' as the pilot. Now that we have both it and her son, we can't afford to lose it."

"Of course I realize that. I'm just concerned at how the PR will react to this," Stanley replied, sighing again, "Big Blue World is likely to side with the Allied Forces and SENTINELS seeing as they are both institutions of their home country. We've already stretched relations with the company enough without this..."

"We'll be fine. We haven't done anything that falls outside of the company's policies or general orders, and even if SENTINELS wants the Mark 1, they can't take it from us legally. The changes made to it during the battle on Iwato Jima allowed us to sign ownership of the machine to the boy and his friend," Christophe replied, retaining his smile, "The Allied Forces can't prove that they hold ownership over that version of the machine, so they can't take possession of it."

"I know, I know," Stanley said, turning to leave the room, "just be careful. You're treading very thin water right now and one false step could cause us to lose everything." He passed a secretary on his way out the door.

"Sir, the men who requested employment are here to see you," she said, "and after that, you're wanted in the medical examination area. Our new recruits have arrived and are undergoing observation right now."

"Bring in our potential employees. I want to speak to them first."

The woman nodded and left the room. After a moment, she returned with three moderately well-dressed men trailing behind her. At the lead was a thin man with wild-black hair followed by a man of equal proportion with navy blue hair and a muscular man wearing sunglasses with no discernable hairstyle. All three looked confident enough, with only a hint of nerves showing on their faces.

"Ah, how wonderful to finally meet you in person!" Christophe exclaimed cheerfully, standing up to greet them, "Mr. Gazelle and his associates Han and Pippo, correct? I'm President Christophe Blanc at your service."

"Ah, y-yes we were hoping that we could enter the employment of your company if possible," Gazelle responded, momentarily off-put by the man's cheery nature.

"Why of course it's possible; you're already hired."

"Huh! Just like that? Shouldn't you ask us questions or review our resumes or something?"

"No need," he said, still smiling, "I've already thoroughly reviewed your backgrounds. You three are in the business of smuggling and information gathering. You're quite good at it too, I must say. A few of our subsidiaries have had complaints about loss of property, and after checking your 'job experience,' it wasn't too hard to identify you as the cause."

Gazelle let out a nervous laugh, scratching his head, before he realized something. "Are you blackmailing us?!"

Blanc shook his head, sitting back down. "No, you're free to go if you wish. I merely wanted you to know that you have the proper qualifications for the job, and if you can prove yourselves, I can trust you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go down and meet our two new pilots."

Blanc got up and began to leave. "You'll soon receive your first assignment from myself or one of my other employees. Good day to you." He walked out the door and into the hall.

"What an odd man," Han said, raising an eyebrow, "Do you think he's playing us?"

"No," Gazelle replied, raising a hand, "He's just eccentric. I get the feeling that he really needs people like us working for him and we're just the best he's come across."

"Isn't that being a little overconfident?"

"Heh, when you know you're the best, why deny it?" Gazelle laughed as Han and Pippo scratched the backs of their heads.

**Génération Bleu Headquarters (Medical Examination Area)**

'_A medical examination, huh...' _Ao thought. He was sitting back-to-back with Naru on an observation table, scanners attached to both of their chests, and he could see his fellow pilots along with Ivica and a doctor looking in on him from a window in front of them.

'_I guess I don't really blame them considering this...' _he thought as he touched the turquoise strands of hair hanging over his forehead. Suddenly, he felt Naru's fingers interlace with his own as she proceeded to grip his hand tightly. He turned his gaze to meet her dark brown eyes over his shoulder.

"No one will hold it against you. No one," she declared, her voice firm, "and even if everyone else turned against you, I would still be there by your side. So don't worry about it, okay?"

"Uh y-yeah," he replied, blushing a little. How she had known what he had been feeling was beyond him, but he took comfort in her words. As long as she was there with him, he felt like he didn't need to worry about what others would think of him.

The doctor cleared his throat over the intercom catching the pair's attention. "I'll say again, I detect no abnormalities. You're both perfectly healthy," he said.

The two pilots were pulling the scanners off when the door to the room suddenly opened and a man with brown hair wearing a suit and glasses walked into the room. Fleur visibly grimaced at the sight of him.

"Ah, these must be our new recruits. Welcome to Génération Bleu! I'm President Blanc," the man stated with jollity.

The pair was stunned into silence by the sudden appearance and subsequent declaration of the man allowing him to continue.

"I must admit, I wasn't expecting to find anyone capable of piloting an IFO out there, let alone two pilots that work together," Blanc said, smiling cheerfully at the both of them, "It can be hard to hold that kind of responsibility. If there should be anything on your minds, feel free to think of me as a father that you can talk to. I'll listen to anything you have to say."

Blanc quickly noticed the downcast looks on both of the children's faces in response to his words. "Is something the matter?"

The boy was the one who responded. "It's- It's nothing, I just... don't exactly have the best image of a 'father.'"

Fleur had had enough. "Elena, I'm going on ahead," she stated, making for the exit as her partner called after her, "You... You have no right to act like a father...!"

Blanc, whose attention had been drawn by Fleur's outburst, turned back to the children. "I apologize for that. We were in the middle of a conversation weren't we?" he said calmly before turning to the window, "Elena."

"Y-Yes sir?" she said, flustered.

"If there's nothing you're doing at the moment, would you mind showing these two around the facility as a guide?"

"No... I don't mind..."

"Do we really need a guide?" Naru asked

"I wouldn't underestimate the size of our headquarters. We house thousands of employees and citizens as well as hundreds of businesses. We built this base on top of a city after all."

The two completed their examination and headed off with Elena after which Blanc headed into the monitoring room to see the results of said examination along with Ivica. "What did you find?"

"My findings were... interesting to say the least," the doctor replied looking intrigued.

"What can you tell me about them?"

"Well, within the boy, we found similar results to those we found in his mother," he said while pulling up two scans of the same body parts on his holographic screens on the walls. He proceeded to shift through different parts of the body as he said, "There are still significant differences in DNA between him and a normal human, but he shows even more human traits than his mother did, while keeping most of her exclusive abilities. In other words, he's a perfect hybrid between a human and whatever his mother was."

"He really carries all of the same traits as his mother?"

"Yes, his eyes are capable of seeing beyond the visible light spectrum and into the infrared and UV, and his lungs have the same orifices that generate Trapar, though in lesser amounts than his mother, and lastly he has the same growth in his neural and cerebral areas. There are also additional growths that I've not been able to determine the cause or purpose of..."

"What do you mean? Why?"

"Well, there seems to be abnormal growth in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain associated with analyzation and social interaction. His physiology seems to be changing in that area, but I don't know how or why. Unfortunately, I can't tell you any more than that."

Blanc lowered his head in thought. _'What could be the cause of these changes?'_

"What about the girl?" It was Ivica who spoke this time.

"Now she was the truly interesting part," the doctor replied, pulling up a couple of views of the girl's body.

"This is a view of her body at 4 years old," he said, pointing to one of the diagrams, "In this view, she is completely normal and free of abnormalities."

He pulled up another view before continuing. "This is a view of her body later that year. This is a couple of months after the Okinawan Scub Burst. As you can see here, there were many abnormal growths in here cerebellum, presumably because of the high amount of Trapar in the area during the event. She was even marked as a 'subject of interest' by SENTINELS until they discovered this..." He zoomed in on the area of the lungs. "Her lungs were greatly damaged by the event. Her ability to breath was greatly inhibited and she was removed from the recommendations list."

"...and now? What does her body look like now? Why is she able to use that machine so effectively?"

"That's the interesting thing," the doctor said, pulling up another diagram, "This is what her body looks like now."

Blanc looked the screen in surprise, gripping the edges of the desk. "What is this...?" On the screen, several areas of her body were lit up, showing various areas of abnormal growth.

"We're detecting foreign growths on the areas of her lungs, spinal cord, and cerebrum. The growths seem to be repairing the damage done to her lungs and is also enlarging the amygdala region of her brain, which is responsible for instinctive action. We're also showing growths in the prefrontal cerebral cortex, which is responsible for predictions. The DNA of the foreign bodies looks to be a variant of that which we find in Scub Coral, but with more human traits. The closest comparison would be the DNA we found in the boy."

"So, what does this mean for her?"

"Her cells appear to be accepting and uniting with the Scub cells. It's like nothing I've ever seen before. Her entire physiology is changing somehow, morphing to suit some unforeseen scenario. In any case, I'd advise against telling her for the time being... at least until we know how these changes will affect her system. If you'll permit, I'd like to have her in for weekly check-ups to monitor the progress these mutations."

"Granted, though we'll have to include the boy to make a likely story. We don't want them getting suspicious." Christophe sighed. _'Things just keep getting more and more confusing.'_

**Génération Bleu Headquarters (Shopping District)**

"So... you mind telling us what we're doing here?" Ao asked, slightly annoyed at the current situation.

The trio were standing in the middle of a manga shop while Elena was sifting through the shelves, apparently searching for something.

"Sorry, sorry. I just wanted to check out the new edition. Oh! There's a new section this month!" Elena answered with excitement.

"Eh, That so?" Ao sighed. No one in this organization seemed to take anything seriously and it was really bugging him.

Elena lowered her head. "You know, I'm kind of like you..."

"Huh?"

"My parents disappeared when I was very young. I haven't seen a hint of them since. The organization tells me they'll keep looking, but... so far, they haven't found a thing."

Ao felt for her, but he was distracted by something. For the first time he had looked directly at her eyes and found them to be… violet? He had thought that the pink hair was odd, but he had assumed that it was dyed. Now he wasn't so sure. _'Could she really be like me…?'_

"I'm so sorry," Naru comforted her, placing hand on her shoulder and bringing Ao back to reality, "My mother is dead and I don't get along very well with my own father. I share your pain..."

Elena's eyes widened for a second before her lips curved upward. "Really? Well, if that's the case, then I think you'll get along very well with a certain someone."

"A certain someone...?"

Before Elena could elaborate, they heard a cry from outside. Looking out the window, the trio saw a group of girls with Noah clinging to one of the girls' chest outside the shop and subsequently ran outside to catch her. "It's a sloth!"

"Noah!" Naru yelled. Noah, noticing her owner running towards her, jumped from the girl and her two companions back to Naru, almost knocking her over. The three girls, who were all wearing uniforms identical to Elena's, just stared at the group until the one Noah had been clinging to said, "You two... You're Fukai Ao and Arata Naru aren't you?"

"Who are they?" inquired the girl wearing glasses beside her.

"What? You haven't heard? These two were the ones who defeated a Secret within the Z.O.A.! They're our new rookie pilots."

"They were also able to pilot that Mark 1, and apparently they had to keep track of each other's movements just as much as the enemy's. Our mechanics were talking about how impressive it was for a couple of civilians who've never been trained," accosted the third girl, and shortest being around half the size of everyone else, walking up to them with her hands on her hips.

"Ah... Not to sound rude, but who are you three exactly?" Ao asked tactlessly.

"Hm... We're Team Goldilocks, one of Gen. Bleu's other IFO teams," the little one answered. "I'm Chloe McCaffrey," she said pointing to herself; "That's my older sister Maeve," she said, referring to the long-haired girl wearing glasses; "and that over there is Maggie Kwan," she said referring to the girl with short black hair who Noah had been clinging to.

"Ah... it's nice to meet you all..."

Silence and stares.

Naru looked over at Elena, who looked to be more interested in her newly bought Manga than what was going on in front of her, before asking, "You let people this young pilot IFOs?"

Elena just shrugged. "It's been proven by several established scientists that we're the only ones who can do this. The Secrets constantly change tactics and manoeuvers and we children are the only ones with a high enough reaction time to counter that. Being our youngest pilot makes her even more suited for the job."

"That's right, you guys may be on the ace team, but you've just joined and that makes me your Senpai!" Chloe exclaimed, haughtily.

"That may be true," Elena jeered, leaning down and poking the younger girl's nose, "but you're still just a kid."

"I am not a kid!"

"Well, what do we have here?" an unfamiliar voice interjected, marking the approach of a humongous, bald man with a thick, bushy moustache. Upon seeing this man drawing near, Chloe ran over to hug him. "Bruno! Pied Piper are teasing me!"

"Now Elena, you're not being mean to other girls are you?" the newly christened Bruno asked.

"Nah, I'm just making fun. Sorry Chloe," she returned, nodding to the younger pilot who nodded in response, "Anyway, the President asked me to show our new recruits around the base."

Bruno looked over at Ao and Naru. He placed a hand over Ao's shoulders and drew him into a hug as well much to the boy's surprise.

"Ah, welcome to Génération Bleu, but..." He pulled Ao close and quietly said, "It would be best if you and the girl went back to your homes... before you make your loved ones sad."

Ao was stunned momentarily, but thought to himself, _'He's probably right, but I can't go back now; I made a promise to protect the Scub and to fight for the people of the island. Yes… I must stay here.'_

"Now then," Bruno said, pulling away and turning to the Goldilocks' pilots, "A Scub Burst has occurred off a Cape in Colombia. We must be off before the next Secret arrives."

As the four walked away, Ao turned to Elena. "What about us? Shouldn't we be going as well?"

"No," she said, "We rotate teams so that the others can rest. Goldilocks got the order this time, so we should be fine. It's a shame that the company never got around to building that team for our base in America. Oh well… What can you do when a private military firm steals your funds?"

Naru walked up to his side as Elena continued to rant. "What did he say to you back there? You seemed distressed for a bit."

"Huh? Oh, you mean Bruno? He said that we should leave… that we would make our family and friends sad if we continued on this path." Ao shook his head. "I'm not going to leave, though. I made a promise to fight and… I want to find Mother."

Naru closed her eyes and smiled. "That's just like you, isn't it? Well, I'm not leaving either. I also made a promise that I intend to keep…"

Before more could be said, Elena wrapped her arms around both of their necks from behind. "You two are so cute~" she exclaimed causing the pair to blush and look away. "Anyway, let's head over to the Residential Area. I'm so tired, I can't see straight."

**Génération Bleu Battleship Medon (Colombian Airspace; Scub Coral Arrival Site)**

It had been a few hours since the team had departed from the base and they were quite close to the Scub Coral now. Despite the lack of any signs of the appearance of a Secret, they couldn't let their guard down. A hurricane was whipping up in the area and they would have to fly dangerously close to it in order to collect the Quartz.

The team's crew chief Bruno Hans sat on the bridge, contemplating the situation. It seemed a little suspicious to him and he had to act carefully. He wholeheartedly shared Ivica's mantra: don't let the children die no matter the cost. The appearance of this hurricane had him on edge.

"What's the current situation?" he heard Blanc talking to him through the communications channel and responded, "There's no sign of any Secrets in the area. It's rare for them to take this long, but… What really has me concerned is the hurricane that's brewing in the area."

"Go ahead and proceed to the Scub Coral. If we complete this operation quickly enough, we may not have to deal with a Secret at all."

"Alright. We'll go ahead with the Quartz recovery," Chloe said through the com. channel.

"Be careful, you three. I have a bad feeling about this mission," Bruno responded, watching his monitors for any sign of activity.

Chloe turned her light orange and white Requiem to match the rotation of the hurricane along with her sister's light blue and white Gloria and Maggie's light red and white Credo. She sighed, disappointed with the mission so far. She had been hoping to outshine the newbie pilots by fighting in the Z.O.A. Even if her job was mainly acquiring targeting vectors and payload retrieval, she still didn't like the idea of a couple of rookie pilots showing up and outperforming her on the first day. It upset the balance of things as far as she was concerned.

'_If those two can do it, then so can I!' _she thought. Suddenly, a gigantic object emerged from the clouds in front of them. It was moving so fast that they almost didn't have time to react; she veered to the right, desperately trying to avoid the incoming projectile. Just barely evading death, she looked at her view screen to see that her comrades had done the same. Breathing a sigh of relief, she attempted to contact the Medon.

Bruno strained to hear the girls voices over the static that was coming through the com. channel. Most of what he heard was surprised yelling, but he could just barely make out Chloe's voice in the middle of it. "Bru… It… Secr… We… help!" The message was very broken up, but he caught the meaning and contacted HQ. "This is the Medon. We've confirmed that a Secret is present at the arrival site and is within the hurricane. Requesting Emergency Assistance!"

"Sir!" his communications officer exclaimed from his right, "I've lost the signal for all three of the IFOs. I believe that they might have entered the Z.O.A. since attacking the Secret from outside the hurricane would be impossible. I lost their readings right outside its outer wall."

"If that's the case, then we need to go in after them. We can't afford to let them die," he stated, pointing forward towards the hurricane, "Helmsmen! Take us in!"

**Génération Bleu Headquarters (IFO Hangers)**

"Hey, Ivica!"

Ivica turned around, to meet the visage of Alexander Boyle, the company's chief mechanic in charge of maintenance for both the battleships and IFOs. By this point he was a master of identifying even the slightest problem with a machine and correcting it in a way that maximizes efficiency. Without him, they would probably be in a lot worse shape than they were.

"Alexander. You have the report on the Nirvash, I'm guessing?"

Boyle shook his head. "No, there's a problem with that. We've managed to pierce the outer armor of the lower limbs and that all checks out fine, actually better than we could have hoped, but whenever we try to go beyond that to the main body… Well, there's some sort of inner armor that we can't seem to bypass. We've tried using all known forms of cutting, but we can't get through it. Every time we make a cut, it just sews itself back together. My team and I are baffled."

Ivica sighed, his hand meeting his forehead. Everything about those two was perplexing and it was beginning to get to him. "Is there anything you CAN tell me?"

"Yes. The Third Engine is gone."

Ivica's head snapped back up. "What?!"

"The Third Engine isn't there anymore. We tried to do the link-up, but we're not getting any readings for it. The machine is still capable of self-generating Trapar based on the footage from Okinawa, but it's not coming from a Third Engine."

Ivica was about to say more but was interrupted by his mobile. Bringing it up opening the line, he saw Blanc's face on the screen. He had a grim look. "Ivica, I need you up here in the Command Room. There's a problem with the mission," Blanc said before closing the line.

He looked back up at Boyle. "Don't do anything too damaging to the Nirvash. We need it in top shape for combat, but… find out what you can."

"Will do," the man replied before departing. Ivica peered over the railing at the enigmatic machine for a moment before departing himself.

**Génération Bleu Headquarters (Command and Analysis Room)**

Ivica walked in to see everyone frantically working and static on the main monitor. Blanc looked down from his work station to him. "Ivica, there's a problem. We've lost all contact with the Medon. Its current position and status, as well as those of the Goldilocks' pilots, are unknown."

"There was a Secret after all?"

"Yes, it was hiding in the hurricane. We don't know much about it, but we've managed to capture a single image before the communications cut out."

Ivica turned his head to look at the image on the screen. There were lines of static all around the border, but in the center was clear. A titanic black and red creature shaped somewhat like a… swing carousel was clearly visible on the monitor.

"How's your team?" Stanley asked from his right.

"They should be asleep right now. Don't tell me you're actually considering putting them on the mission. What about Harlequin? Surely they can take care of this?"

"Unfortunately, the Poseidon is on the other side of the world right now. By the time the Proteus arrived, they might already have died. We need your team, Ivica."

Ivica contemplated for a moment before coming to a decision. "Alright, I'll wake them, but they better get the appropriate rest before you send them on the next assignment. They deserve it after three battles in a row."

"Agreed, and I'm sure Hannah won't mind picking up the slack for a while."

**Génération Bleu Headquarters (Residential Area)**

Comfortable Darkness and Peaceful Warmth.

Blinding Light.

Ao jerked awake and registered Naru in front of him with a hand on his shoulder. "It's about time you got up. I had to get Georg to open the door for me," she said, exasperated, drawing back her hand. He then heard another noise. The sound of his mobile ringing brought him back to reality. He had been arranging his stuff in his new apartment in the housing district and he had sat down on a chair to take a break. _'Guess I was more tired than I thought, huh…'_

Naru, in the meantime, was talking through her own mobile. "Yes, Chief, I got him up… Yes we'll head over there immediately," she said before canceling the line, "Come on, Goldilocks is in trouble and we've been called to help them." She began to walk toward the door.

"Wait! What happened to them? Do you know?"

"The only thing I know is that they've lost contact with them. Now, hurry up! Fleur and Elena are waiting for us!" she said, walking out the door and leaving him stunned. He just sat there for a moment before he realized he should probably get going.

"Hey! Wait up!"

**Génération Bleu Headquarters (IFO Hangers; Locker Room)**

Fleur and Elena had already begun changing by the time the pair had arrived. They looked less energetic than usual; their hair being slightly messier than usual and their makeup being looking as if it was hurriedly applied. Paying it no mind, Ao and Naru quickly put on a couple of spare white and blue pilot suits as the tailors hadn't finished their actual suits yet. By the time they were finished, Ivica had walked in to discuss the mission.

"Alright, you four, our main priority remains to be the retrieval of the Quartz and the elimination of the Secret. We still don't know the current status of the Goldilocks' team members, but our orders are to locate them and render assistance if we can. You two," he said, pointing to Ao and Naru, "We've got a couple of hours until we arrive so you'll be getting a crash course in basic piloting and tactics. When we get there, I want you to be ready to fight and if you aren't, I'll put you on standby and you can sit this one out. It's your choice."

They both nodded. It wasn't like there was much else they could do. They both acknowledged the fact that the other two had more experience and tactical prowess, having actually received training and having fought many battles before they'd come. These were all steps that they would take during their time in the company and they would just have to deal with this small intro for now.

"We depart in twenty minutes. Don't be late." He turned around and walked through the door to the boarding tunnel, and was quickly followed by Fleur and Elena. The pair was about to follow when Ao heard a voice he never thought he would hear again in so short a time. "Ao! Naru! Glad we made it here before you have to leave."

The two swiveled on their feet in surprise. Standing before them was none other than Gazelle's group. "Gazelle! What are you doing here?" Ao asked in amazement.

"Well I couldn't just let you two go off on your own, so we decided to get a job at the company for ourselves. We're full-fledged employees just like you," he said, squatting to meet their height.

"What about our island's independence? I thought you guys were going to keep fighting for that."

"Hey, what's our island's independence worth if the world gets destroyed in the process?"

Ao didn't respond as he couldn't really argue with that. "How is everyone on the island? We left so quick that I didn't get the chance to check on everyone," Naru said, her face downcast.

Gazelle turned to face her. "I can't really comment on the long-term effects of the last attack. We left not too long after you did, but everything looked fine when we were there last. There wasn't any major damage thanks to you guys keeping that Secret busy. Your Grandmother and sister made it out fine as well," he answered, placing a hand on her shoulder. Her face brightened at hearing the news.

"Oi!" they heard Elena calling from the boarding tunnel, "We don't have much time left, so you guys should hurry before we leave you behind!"

"Okay! We'll be there in a minute!" Ao called back.

"Looks like we'll have to let you two go for now," Gazelle said, standing back up, "but be careful. I heard about that hurricane in Colombia and you know how bad those typhoons would get back in Okinawa. The wind would blow you every which way until the center passed overhead. Anyway, go on. You're needed elsewhere. We'll hold the fort till you get back."

"Take care of yourselves, you guys."

The three struck mock inspirational poses before watching the two cross the boarding tunnel, get chided by their comrade, and enter the ship. They didn't leave until it had taken off.

"Poor kids," Pippo said, grinding his knuckle against the palm of his other hand, "They have to deal with all of this and they haven't even matured yet."

"Neither have you, you big oaf," Han joked, jabbing the larger man's ribs.

"Those two are stronger than you might think. They'll be fine," Gazelle said, neglecting to add the "I hope" that was present in his thoughts.

**Génération Bleu Battleship Triton (Atlantic Ocean; En Route to Colombia)**

Rebecka Hallström walked up the steps to the airship's bridge to find Ivica standing there, looking at a view screen. He'd been here almost the entire time since they'd left, overlooking the progress of their new pilot's crash training course.

"How are they doing on the sims?" she asked, leaning on his command chair.

His eyes flickered to her for a moment, registering that it was indeed her before responding. "Generally well, but these programs were designed for singular pilots. There's no telling what they'll do once they're out there together."

"But, they're making the right choices aren't they?"

"There are no right choices in tactics. There's the choices that will kill your enemy and the choices that will kill yourself. To answer your question, yes they are making good choices, but we don't know if they'll make those choices on the battlefield."

"Are they really so different?"

"No, but the boy appears to have a more passive approach to situations while the girl has a more aggressive approach. On the battlefield, that decision can make the difference between life and death. If they aren't in at least near complete agreement, they could die."

"We have no choice, though, do we? We've never dealt with a machine like theirs before. All we can do is protect them the best we can, right?"

Ivica turned his head to look at her for a moment before his gaze returned to the monitors. "At least you're learning something."

Down in the hanger, Ao was resting in the Nirvash's cockpit. The crash course had really worn him out and he suspected it had done the same for Naru, though she was good at hiding it. He smiled, remembering how she had chastised him on the walk from the apartment. It was just like her to do that even though he knew she was just as tired. It made him nostalgic for those days back on the island when they used to play together as children. Memories of those happy times warmed his heart.

"We're getting close to the Secret. Do you want to take another sim before we enter combat?" Ivica said over the com screen that appeared to his left. "No chief, I think I'm ready. I just need to rest for now." Ivica nodded and closed the com.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Naru asked from his right, tilting her head from behind the cutout that separated them.

"No. How could I be? We're about to fight off an giant alien creature in a robot that was piloted by my mother a long time ago and is apparently alive thanks to a guy I meant in a dream world."

"Yeah," she chuckled, "It does sound pretty ridiculous when you say it outright like that, but if you're really not ready for this then maybe we should sit this one out like Ivica said."

"Why? Do you feel up to this?"

"Well… It's just… When I think about those girls we met back at the HQ and what they must be going through right now… It really makes my blood boil. It makes me want to go out and help them, but if you don't feel up to this then I'll sit it out with you."

Ao was surprised to hear that from her. Most of the time on the island, she had been concerned with herself because of her disease. He was one of the only long-lasting friendships she ever made because of her disease and how short her lifespan was. Now that the disease was gone, she must be branching out a little.

"No… You're right," he said with determination, "I can't let them suffer either. I'll go and fight for them along with everyone else."

Naru nodded and sat back down. As they continued to get closer to the Secret, they felt a new emotion emanating from the Nirvash, one that they shared at the moment: anticipation.

**Colombian Airspace (Scub Coral Arrival Site)**

"We still can't locate the Medon or her IFOs. There's too much electromagnetic interference in the area to get a clear reading. HQ believes that the Secret is capable of generating a powerful electromagnetic field which was responsible for knocking out the Goldilocks' systems. You are all advised to remain outside of the Z.O.A. for the time being," Georg cheerfully delivered the explanation as the team moved closer to the hurricane.

"Try firing on the Secret from the outside," Ivica advised.

"Got it." The four of them fired countless shots at the outer wall of the hurricane in an attempt to damage the monolithic beast within. However, no matter how many projectiles they launched, they couldn't pierce the outer wall of the storm.

"It's too thick! There's no way to hit it from the outside!" Fleur raved, hitting the screen to her right with her gloved hand.

"Indeed. The wind speed has increased dramatically since the Medon penetrated the cloud barrier. With our current weaponry, we will be unable to breach the outer wall," Georg clarified.

Elena held her chin up under her helmet. "So, entering the Z.O.A. really is the only way to beat it…"

"No! That's exactly what Goldilocks did!" Rebecka hollered.

"Well, we have to come up with something. The Secret is almost to the Scub Coral."

Inside the Nirvash, Ao brought his gloved hand to where his chin would be under his helmet. _'There has to be something we're missing… Something important that we haven't thought of…' _

"Hey, Ao," Naru said, interrupting his thoughts, "What was it that Gazelle told us before we left? It had something to do with typhoons didn't it?"

"Yeah he was talking about how they blew you all around until… until you reached the center! That's it!" He opened a com. channel. "Georg! What if we hit it from the eye of the storm?"

"Let me see…" The AI disappeared for a moment and then reappeared. "It's feasible, but you'll have to hit it from close range. The EM field would interfere with the charge of your rail guns and the targeting systems of missiles and normal shots would be blown off their trajectory by the winds."

"Alright! Will you let us do it, Chief?"

Ivica resumed crossing his arm and closed his eyes in thought. "Georg," he said, "How dangerous would it be for them?"

"There's no telling exactly how dangerous it would be, but a high-powered EM field has the potential to cook them alive in minutes. They would have to complete the operation in a short amount of time to avoid serious injury or death."

"… and we can't send one of the other children in?"

"No. The Kyrie lacks the mobility and the Alleluia lacks the weaponry. The Nirvash has the perfect balance of both."

"I can't condone such an operation, then. Not when it puts my two youngest and most inexperienced pilots at such a risk."

"Chief!" They both called out this time.

"I promised your parents that I would bring you back safely… that I would die myself before I would let you come to harm. I won't let you get yourselves killed, not when I've already done enough damage by bringing you here in the first place."

"I guess Goldilocks doesn't matter then, or the people in Colombia!" Naru yelled.

Ivica's eyes snapped open.

"Those girls… They have families that love them too don't they? Even if they don't, that doesn't mean we should cast them aside. And the people of Colombia… even if we evacuate them, their homes will still be destroyed and it will take them months, maybe even years to rebuild because we failed to act!"

"Even so, is it worth dying over?" Fleur asked angrily, "If you rush in there without a plan, it's practically suicide!"

"We won't die," Ao said with conviction, shifting the Nirvash to its humanoid state, "We may not have your knowledge or experience, but… We can't just sit by while innocent people are hurt by a conflict that they have no part in!"

Ivica brought his head back down and closed his eyes. _'Damned kids…' _

"Go then…" he said with a sigh.

"What?"

"You heard me. Go now before I change my mind."

"Yes, Chief!"

"Hey, you two!" Fleur called out.

"Yeah?"

"See it through to the end. You're not allowed to fail until you do," she said calmly.

The two nodded at their respective screens before they dashed off toward their destination.

"Was that really the best decision?" Rebecka asked with a concerned look on her face.

"Like I said earlier, there aren't any right or wrong choices in tactics. Whatever the choice, you can only hope it doesn't haunt you for the rest of your life."

The pair of pilots steered the Nirvash diagonally upward until they reached the top of the hurricane where they leveled out and quickly made their way to the center.

"I'm sorry I dragged you into this, Naru. If I'd known that this would be our first mission…" Ao said quietly.

"Don't apologize, you idiot," she replied, giving him a light punch on the shoulder.

"Huh?"

"I chose to follow you here. I… wanted to fly with you. I couldn't just sit around waiting for you to come home while you were out fighting giant monsters in some other country every other day. I'd probably die from worry alone. I'm glad I'm out here fighting by your side."

"But-"

"Listen Ao, you're no stronger than I am. Maybe when I had my disease, but not anymore. You can't do this by yourself no matter how much you might think that you can. You need someone to support you and I'd like to be that person."

That shut him up. He had seen her as a close friend or a sister to that point. She wanted to be more than that, though. She wanted to be his equal, someone he could depend on and who could depend on him.

"We're in this together, Ao. You don't need to carry any more of this burden than me, alright?

"Yeah, you're right as usual. We're partners aren't we? I won't look down on you anymore. You don't deserve it."

"Well, maybe just a little," she chuckled, "It's kind of cute when you get protective like that."

"Hey, don't say stuff like that!" he exclaimed, blushing and causing her to laugh.

Neither of them noticed the Synch Percentage rise during their conversation.

By the time they were done speaking, they had reached the eye of the hurricane through which they could clearly see the Secret below them. It's odd shape being hidden under its smooth upper section.

"Well, this is it," Ao said nervously.

"Let's go for it," Naru said, equally nervous, "No turning back now."

After a moment's hesitation, they plunged directly through the center of the storm. Their heads hit the backs of their seats and they had to keep a tight grip on the joysticks to keep themselves from veering off. Breaking through the relatively thin cloud barrier, they emerged to see one of the Secret's options heading directly for them.

"GAH!"

Rapidly swerving to the right, they weaved in and out, avoiding the options and heading for the top. Once they reached the upper section of the Secret, they could clearly make out the core in the center of the circular platform. Before they could attempt to destroy it, however, their limited time within the Z.O.A. was up and the Secret finally noticed them. It began spinning around at impossible speeds, deploying its last resort: the EM field.

Ao felt an immense shock running through his body. He was assaulted by waves of pain, causing him to shake until he could no longer grip the joysticks to control the Nirvash; his entire body was heating up until he felt like he was burning alive. This was all increased twofold by the Nirvash's own feelings of pain that were flooding his mind and driving him over the edge. He tried to scream, but no sound would come out of his mouth.

He struggled to turn his head and saw that Naru was in a similar situation, holding her head in agony. The last part of his brain that was capable of coherent thought lit up. _'Naru… We're partners… equals. You fought so hard for me on the island and even here… You were the only one who saw past my eyes and my hair… and you followed me here despite the danger. I can't just let you die… even if it costs my own life…' _He reached a hand out in her general direction.

Naru was experiencing similar thoughts, blocking out the pain. _'Ao… I promised to follow you… to support you and stand by your side in this fight… you were the only friend I had back on the island… our situations were similar so naturally we became friends… I won't let you die now that we've come so far together…' _She reached out a hand in his general direction.

Both of their hands fell on the Compact Drive handle and with the last of their strength, they pulled it upward. The Synch Percentage screen indicated 100% as lavender light filled the cockpit.

**Colombian Airspace (Hurricane Exterior)**

Nothing could have prepared the rest of Pied Piper for what happened next. A gigantic beam of rainbow light erupted from the top and bottom of the storm, cutting through the clouds and dispersing them. Several rings of light emanated from the beam and spread out over a wide range.

"What is that?! Is it another Scub Coral?!" Ivica said loudly, rising to his feet.

"No," Georg said, popping up in the OS, "I've never witnessed a phenomenon like this before, but that beam of light appears to be an immense amount of Trapar. It doesn't match the unknown energy we've observed during Scub Coral arrival. Its origin and the reaction that caused it are currently unknown."

Everyone, including the other pilots, looked on in amazement as the hurricane was completely dispelled, revealing the Secret and the Nirvash floating in the air. The Secret was spinning out of control, its senses disrupted by the immeasurable amounts of Trapar in the area, and sending out EM waves in various directions.

The Nirvash rode the Trapar, seemingly floating through the air, with untold skill toward the Secret. Dodging its Options, which were now whipping wildly through the air, the machine made its way to the core of the behemoth. Extending its electrified knuckleduster, the Nirvash sank it's fist into the glowing red orb, stopping its erratic movements. After pulling away, the creature exploded in a bright flash of light.

The Nirvash sank to the ground, having served its purpose and its pilots' strength exhausted.

"Um, Ivica…" Rebecka said tentatively.

Ivica pulled his eyes away from the sight for a moment to respond, "What is it?"

"We're getting a com. signal…"

Ivica rubbed his forehead. "Tell the girls to proceed with the quartz recovery and then open a channel."

Rebecka followed her orders and soon a surprising image popped up on the screen.

"Ivica! You're here!"

Ivica blinked for a moment. "Bruno? So you're alive after all."

"Yes I'm fine. The Secret's EM field knocked out our navigation systems and caused us to crash to the ground. We've taken relatively minor damage, but the girls…" The man's face darkened.

"Are they all right?"

"Chloe's unharmed and Maeve only has minor bruises, but Maggie… she's been severely injured. Our medical staff are doing what they can, but we need to get her back to HQ and fast."

"Once we've got the Quartz and our other pilots, we'll rush back to headquarters. I suspect she's not the only one in need of medical attention."

Hans breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Ivica. I can't rest easy yet, but you've given some peace at least."

"Glad to hear it Bruno."

"What happened exactly? What was that beam of light?"

Ivica shook his head. "To be honest with you Bruno, I don't know. I guess we'll have to wait for the retrieval of our pilots to find out. Have they responded to our hails?" He looked to Rebecka to find the woman shaking her head. "This is going to be one odd report I have to write," he sighed.

**Génération Bleu Headquarters (Medical Examination Area; Several Hours Later)**

Ao woke up to find an unfamiliar ceiling above him. He tried to move only to feel pain coursing through his body, forcing him to lay back down.

"Oh! You're awake!" he heard a somewhat familiar voice say. He tilted his head to the left to find the face of Chloe McCaffrey staring back at him, holding his helmet in her lap.

"What are you doing here?" he coughed out, feeling pain in his throat.

She got a glass of water from the table next to her and slowly fed it to him. He felt relief as it splashed down his throat. "Sheesh. I wait here all this time for you to wake up and that's all you can say?"

"Sorry," he said, feeling a little better.

"No, it's okay. I'm here to… apologize actually," she said quietly, looking down.

"Apologize? What do you have to apologize for?"

"When we found out that a Secret was hidden within the hurricane, I… I suggested that we enter the Z.O.A. to fight it up close. The others agreed with me and went inside. The Secret found us within seconds. Maeve and I got tossed around and Maggie… she tried to defend us and almost died because of it and then Bruno came for us and we all crashed…"

"Why are you apologizing for that?"

"Just listen! After they recovered us, I found out that you guys stuck up for us the whole time and then you went and almost got yourselves killed and it was my fault...!" She was almost in tears.

With great pain to himself, he brought his arm up to ruffle her hair, immediately catching her attention. "Hey, it's not your fault. You made the right assumption. There was no way of attacking it from the outside and you couldn't have known about the EM field, so don't worry about it. I proved you right anyway. Attacking it in the Z.O.A. was the only option."

"I just wish you two wouldn't have had to risk so much for us," she said, as he retracted his hand, her face still downcast.

'_You two… Naru!' _he thought, quickly turning his head around. On the bed next to him, he saw Naru lying there, her face peaceful, and for the first time he noticed that her hand was intertwined with his own in the space between them. He breathed a sigh of relief, ignoring the pain from his lungs. _'At least we all survived… That's what counts…'_

**Génération Bleu Headquarters (President's Office)**

Bruno slowly walked into the dark office. The company president was watching a recording of the events that played out in Colombia on his holographic computer. Noticing the man, he quickly closed the screen and stood up.

"Bruno, I'm very happy that you and the girls are still with us. To lose a close friend would be a painful experience for all of us," Blanc said with a genuine look of happiness on his face.

"I'm just glad I'm still able to support the girls," Bruno replied, his voice heavy with exhaustion, "but we both know that I'm not here to dicuss this topic with you."

"Don't be so sour Bruno. I really am happy that you're still alive."

"I know, but I'd rather get back as soon as possible if you don't mind. Here's what the recovery teams found," he said, placing a rectangular object on the desk. Blanc's face immediately changed from his usual smile to a look of seriousness

"The data is still intact?"

"As far as we can tell. All the files are in there just like the others. Have you found a team to decipher them yet?"

"I found a group that has potential. Only time will tell if they're up to the job."

"Let us hope, because if they're not…" Bruno said, rising to his feet and walking toward the exit, "then this conflict will never end." The man walked out of the office and the doors closed behind him.

Blanc looked back down at the device. _'What secrets are you hiding… Johansson?'_

**A/N:**

**It's pretty obvious that I overwrote this and took way too long to do it. I'm really sorry for the delay, but I was distracted by my brother and my other hobbies. Thanks once again to MEleeSmasher for the various ideas that you've given me. I'll be sure to incorporate them where I can in the later chapters. If you'll notice, I made a few *ahem* slight changes to the plotline of this particular section of the anime/manga. Kudos to anyone who can figure out the reference in Goldilocks' new color schemes. Gunmetal Grey is such a boring color after all. I'll be sure to change Harlequin's schemes too when I get the chance. As always, send me any ideas if you have them and point out any grammatical or spelling errors. I'll also group in continuity errors because I probably wasn't thinking straight when I wrote this chapter.**


	8. Tumultuous Feelings

**A/N: So, the translated manga ends at volume 7 and there's been no indication of volume 8 or beyond coming out anytime soon. I only say this because the manga flows a lot better than the anime and now I won't be able to use it as a basis anymore. It also means that these chapters will have a slight delay on them due to the time it takes to watch an episode or two and implement changes. I offer my sincerest apologies for that.**

**UPDATE: This chapter has been extended, so anyone who has previously read can skip down to get the rest.**

**Disclaimer: The series and its characters belong to BONES Animation Studios**

"Speech"/ _'Thoughts'_

**Génération Bleu Headquarters (Residential Area; One Week Later)**

Elena casually walked back to her apartment from the command center. Life was flowing smoothly for one as Pied Piper had been given a few weeks leave due to their actions against three Secrets in a row and their two downed pilots. Apparently the president saw fit to give them rest only when there was major accident. Speaking of the rookies, they were set to get out sometime in the next two weeks. She had been down to visit them a few times; Ao seemed as bashful as ever, especially when she'd teased him about his relationship with his fellow pilot, and Naru was doing well enough. It was odd seeing the two be so… normal after the beating they had taken.

In the meantime, she had taken to doing some research and had hired on a little help…

Stopping right outside her apartment, she was about to insert her card key when she heard a shout. "Hey, Elena!" Turning her head, she saw a blue-haired man running towards her with two electronic files in hand. This man was Han Juno, a computer hacking specialist at the newly founded Gazelle Administration which was part of the company's information gathering services. _'I only approached them at the beginning of the week! These guys work fast!'_

"I'm glad I caught you. I found some evidence for you," he said, handing the files to her.

"Already? You can't have found what I'm looking for in that short a time?" Scrolling through the files, her eyes widened before a smile graced her lips. "How did you find this?"

"Since the company president hasn't actually given us something to do yet, I decided to spend my spare time sneaking through an American military database and I happened upon it. It's not the most reliable info I've ever gotten, but this is probably your best bet."

"Thank you so much! I'll get on this right away!" She turned to enter her apartment, but Han grabbed her wrist preventing her from doing so. She looked down at the man's hand and then up at his face. "What? I paid you guys in advance."

"Oh, come on! We're not that petty," he sighed, releasing her wrist, "It's just… I can't breach the server any further so the only way to get more information is to-"

"Yeah, I know," she said quietly, looking down at the ground.

"Are you sure about this?"

She closed her eyes. "No, but I want this more than anything."

"Good luck, then." Her eyes snapped open and she looked up to see the man smiling at her.

"You won't report me?"

"It's against all of my better judgment, but I'll cover for you where I can. Just let me know what your plan is, okay?" he asked, placing a hand on his hip.

"Okay…" She was stunned to be honest. The man in front of her was more trustworthy than she could have hoped, or he wanted blackmail. Either way she was extremely grateful for his help and she knew just the way to show it…

Han was about to leave when the girl in front of him leaned in close and planted a kiss on his cheek. He gasped in surprise and his cheeks flushed as she pulled away. There were so many things he wanted to say at that moment, but his brain couldn't quite choose the right one. It was too late anyway, as she had disappeared behind the door to her apartment.

'_Just forget about it, Han… It's better for both of you if you just forget about it,' _he thought, turning away from Elena's door. Realizing something, he whipped his head around and viewed the surrounding area. "Good, no cameras," he said, breathing a sigh of relief and thanking his lucky stars that there wasn't a person in sight, "That could have been a disaster…"

**Génération Bleu Headquarters (Medical Examination Area; One Week Later)**

Ao sat up in his bed; he was on painkillers right now, so he felt no bodily strain from moving. The doctors said that he had minimal exposure to the EM field, so he and Naru should be fully healed within the next week or so, but they would still have to come in for weekly check-ups for the next two months or more to make sure there wasn't any permanent damage. He didn't mind at all. He was just happy that they were both alive after the last mission.

He looked to his right to see Naru up as well, presumably looking through the window at all of the people outside the window. There really hadn't been much for the two of them to do during their stay, so they mostly just hung around the room and occasionally checked updates and read on their mobiles. Chloe had come to visit them a couple times and they made idle conversation; she had told them of her homeland in Norway, or at least what little of it she remembered having been a member of Gen. Bleu for at least three years. Before catching TRA (Trapar-based Respiratory Atrophy), her parents had owned a bakery in Leikanger and Maeve and her had lived relatively happy lives with them. Now, they were in the company's care and had to be under constant observation; He pitied the two girls, but as with himself and Naru, he recognized the importance of them being here. They weren't fighting for themselves, but for the sake of everyone else.

Shaking those thoughts out of his head, he swung his legs over and attempted to rise from the bed. He felt a little wobbly as his feet met the ground but otherwise perfectly capable of walking. "Hey Naru, I'm going to visit Maggie today. Do you want to come?" he asked her, unsure of the answer he would receive. His partner had been oddly quiet since waking up and he couldn't think of a reason why. "No, Ao… I want to be alone for a while. Go on without me, okay?" she replied. Ao stared at her with a concerned look, but he knew better than to try and force her. Knowing her, she would either start crying or sock him in the face, neither of which he wanted to happen. "Okay, Naru… and if there's anything you want to talk about, I'm here." She had stuck up for him on various occasions; perhaps it was time to repay her.

Not hearing her respond, he sighed and walked out the door. Looking around, he found himself to be in a small complex with many rooms lining the walls. Supposedly, this area was set aside specifically for injuries pertaining to Gen. Bleu's three teams and these rooms were empty most of the time. Seeing a nurse at the kiosk, he walked over and posed his question. "Um… excuse me, but do you know where I can find the Goldilocks pilot's room?" The nurse looked up at him and gave him a kind smile. "Oh, I'm glad to see you're up and about again. The Goldilocks' pilot? You mean Maggie? Her room is right down the hall and to the right. It's number 118," she answered, pointing down the hall behind him. Thanking her, he proceeded down the hall and tentatively knocked on the door to the room he'd been directed to.

He had heard that Maggie was still asleep so he was surprised when the door opened from the other side, revealing a familiar face. "Oh, it's you," Maeve said, surprised.

"Can I come in?"

"Y-Yes, of course."

He walked in the room to find Maggie resting peacefully on her bed, an IV attached to her hand, but no other obvious signs that she was injured. After closing the door behind him, Maeve returned to the position she had previously occupied: sitting in a chair by the bed and holding the other girl's hand.

"I'm sorry that I didn't visit you two, but I… I didn't want to leave her here alone…" she said quietly, lowering her head in sorrow.

"It's fine. I understand," he said, pulling up a chair to sit next to her, "Has she woken up since the, ah... the incident?"

"Briefly. She's been sedated for most of the time to help her heal faster and for the drugs to work more effectively. When she did wake up, though…" She closed her eyes and her face showed a sorrowful expression. Ao placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What happened?"

"She…she was-"

As if on cue, Maggie began to stir under the sheets. Her body began to quaver and her head shifted from side to side. Maeve quickly rose from her seat and placed her hands on Maggie's shoulders, keeping her steady and letting this fit run its course. Ao decided to chip in and held her waist steady, ignoring the confusing signals his own body was giving him. Eventually she settled back down, but before she fell back into her slumber, she said something that sent a shiver down his spine. "Mama… Papa…please don't go…" the girl whispered as she became still again.

Maeve looked as if she was about to cry as she sat back down. "It went pretty much like that. Her injuries must be bringing up some bad memories and giving her nightmares, but there's not a thing I can do for her," she said, sounding distraught.

"She's thinking of her family?"

"Yeah." She wiped her eyes and attempted to compose herself. "She had a family over in Hong Kong, but by the time we got to her, it was already too late. Her parents died of the TRA from the Scub Burst and she was left alone, until the company brought her too us. She looked so lonely when she first got here, even lonelier than we were." She suddenly smiled. "So, I walked up to her one day if she wanted to come and play with us. She tried to shy away at first, but I wouldn't let her go until she cheered up. Eventually, she started hanging out with us all the time and we became good friends and we continued even as we were brought into Team Goldilocks and the company's piloting division." She suddenly stopped and raised her head to look at him. "I'm sorry. I'm rambling on aren't I? You probably don't want to hear all about our past do you?"

He raised his hands. "No, it's fine. I know what this feels like. After the Scub Burst in Okinawa, Naru and I both lost our mothers. There were a lot of nights when we were like she is right now," he recounted, pointing to Maggie, "We understood each other's pain and we were able to find comfort in each other. It's okay if you want to talk about it. My grandfather always said that it's first step to feeling better."

Maeve looked at him in surprise. "I had no idea that you two had suffered as much as we have… Oh well, I guess that's just a common thread for all of us… So what was your mother like?"

Ao scratched the back of his head, trying to think. "I don't really remember her that well, but she was kind and caring. She would never scold me or treat me poorly unless I deserved it and she was courteous to everyone else even though the islanders hated her."

"She sounds like a wonderful woman. I wish I could meet her."

"Yeah, me too…"

They continued to talk for a while, though neither of them knew what they should really talk about, so they talked about small things, like their personal lives and company policy, until Ao was sure that Maeve was relaxed again. Eventually, he felt his painkillers beginning to wear off and he got up to leave.

"I'm going to head back to my room. It was nice talking to you Maeve."

"Likewise, and thank you. I feel a lot better now. I'll see you around the Residential Area, yeah?"

"Yeah."

He then proceeded to exit the room and walk back to his own room, greeting the nurse in his way back. He was met with surprise when he walked through the door. Naru was laying there on her bed, eyes closed and facing him this time, and in her hands she held a familiar item. Leaning in, Ao identified it as a holopic that showed her family before the Scub Burst. Sliding his finger across the surface of the photo, carefully so as not to wake her, he revealed the only other photo that was stored in its memory. It now showed a photo of the two of them playing on the beach as children; he was pretty sure that this one was taken by his mother. _'She looked so happy back then. We both did…'_

He almost didn't notice Naru stirring. Slowly, she opened her eyes and they locked with his own for a moment. In them, he saw sorrow and worry. She then rolled onto her back, breaking their gaze. She was still tightly gripping the holopic in her hands.

"You had someone get that from your apartment?" he asked, sitting back down on his own bed.

"Yes. Pippo stopped by for a visit while you were gone. He asked me if there was anything I wanted and I told him that I wanted this," she responded, sounding weary.

"Is there something wrong, Naru? You seem… off."

She rolled back on her side to face him. "Ao… I… I was just thinking… thinking of what would have happened if we'd…" her voice trailed off.

"If we'd what?" Ao didn't like where this was heading.

"If we had died during that last battle… I mean, look at us now. We came so close."

Ao was shocked. Usually she was the strong one and now she was thinking about this kind of thing…

"I was thinking about my family… about your family and how sad everyone would be if I never came back. It would be like when mother died, but so much worse…"

Ao, unable to think of anything else to do for her, walked forward and drew her into an embrace. Though in his heart, he felt the same, right now he had to put on a strong face for the girl who had done the same for him when he was a child. The two said nothing, drawing comfort from each other. They pulled away eventually, and he watched her drift off into a peaceful slumber once again. He then took out his own photograph, the one of himself and his mother, and let his own tears fall silently on the glass in the frame.

**One Month After Colombia…**

**Génération Bleu Headquarters (Residential District)**

"All tests have shown positive results. You're in perfect health and your simulator scores are more than high enough to justify sending you into combat. You and the rest of Team Pied Piper are set to return to active duty as soon as the next Secret arrives. Do you feel that you're ready?"

"Yes, we're ready," Ao and Naru said in unison.

"I'm glad to hear it. From what I hear, the others are eagerly awaiting their next battle. It will be a relief to them to get back out flying again. Remember, come and see me if you have any troubles that you want to discuss. I will always be here," Blanc said, signing out of the three way conversation.

Much had happened in the month since the battle over Colombia. Ao and Naru made a full recovery from the Secret's attack within the second week of leave, however Ivica and other members expressed concern over their ability to effectively pilot and decided to take this time to put them through a piloting course. Thanks to Boyle's team, a dual pilot simulator had been developed exclusively for their use and they had to report to it for training for a number of hours each day. By the end of the fourth week, their scores had already surpassed expectations and Boyle was confident that the two were ready for combat. Other than that, they were settling into their apartments and returning to the Medical Wards for weekly health checkups, which showed signs of vast improvement in the both of them.

Thankfully, only three Scub Arrivals had occurred in the meantime, two of which were taken care of by Gen. Bleu's third IFO team, Harlequin, who were not stationed on the base. The third was eliminated by Goldilocks after the recent completion of repairs to the Medon and the recovery of their pilot, Maggie Kwan. Ao and Naru had visited Bruno's apartment after they had gotten out and the man had shown his immense thanks by pulling the two into a massive bear hug. Suffice to say, they had been short of breath afterward.

Fleur and Elena had been getting the appropriate amount of rest under advisement from Ivica and Rebecka. Fleur had mostly just hung out the whole month while occasionally heading down to the hanger to keep her skills sharp with the simulator; Ao had heard that she and Elena had tried out the dual sim together and that the two had managed to pull a somewhat decent score after a ton of tries and the occasional verbal battle. Speaking of Elena, they hadn't seen the girl around the district that much, though Fleur said it was normal for her to be holed up in her room for hours at a time illegally downloading… things.

Ao shook his head of such thoughts and returned to the book that he had been reading before Blanc had called. He was currently sitting in his apartment, which was sparsely decorated. He didn't own all that many things back on the island, so he didn't have much to take with him when he came here.

'_Settled in?'_

Ao immediately put the book down and stood up. Turning around, he saw a face that he hadn't seen in weeks. There was Aeterna sitting cross-legged on the…ceiling…

"What are you doing here, and why haven't I seen you in so long?" Ao asked, not really as angry as he sounded.

'_What? Not happy to see me again?' _His face showed an expression of mock hurt.

"It's not that, it's just… you helped me so much back on the island and it's been a long time since we talked last…"

'_You seemed to be doing pretty well for yourself and I saw no particular need to interfere with your actions.'_

"I guess... To me it felt more like I was stumbling around and only knowing what to do half of the time," he said, putting a hand up to his chin, "How are you here anyway? And why do you look more… solid than usual?"

'_The material that Gen. Bleu removes from the Scub Coral…'_

"Quartz?"

'_Yes, that's it. That stuff has the power to bend time and space. The closer I am to it, the more real I become. However, no matter how close I am, I will never truly enter your world.'_

"Why not?"

'_You wouldn't understand if I told you. It's more complicated than you can understand. Instead, let's talk about what you've been doing.'_

Ao was a little irked, but he kept his mouth shut on the matter. He knew that he probably couldn't get any more answers out of this man if he tried, and he'd probably just get waved off again. _'I'll get answers out of you some day,' _he thought. Deciding to put off thinking about it till later, he continued the conversation.

"Yeah, about what happened in Colombia… You were watching weren't you?"

'_Of course, and I assume that you want me to tell you about what happened to you?' _Receiving a nod of confirmation from the boy, he continued. _'That beam of light you saw and the subsequent Trapar storm: that is the Seven Swell Phenomenon.'_

"Seven… Swell…?"

'_Yes, it is the result of the complete synchronization between the two pilots of a Nirvash Type ZERO Archetype. The reaction between the consciousnesses of both pilots and that of the Nirvash excites the Archetype's Natural Engine and causes a powerful burst of Trapar."_

"I don't really understand it all, but I get the gist of what you're saying. Naru and I need to be in complete synch to perform it, right?"

'_Yes, that's correct, but let's return to why I'm here. There is a man rapidly approaching this facility; he has a wild and chaotic personality and is capable of mass devastation. I need you to keep your co-pilot safe from him."_

Ao's eyes narrowed. "How do you know all of this… and why would he go after Naru?"

'_He is an old adversary of mine,' _the man mentally sighed, _'I had hoped that you would not have to meet him, but it appears that I was mistaken. As for Naru, he needs you for a purpose that even I don't understand entirely. It is likely that he will attempt to remove that which you hold most dear in order to manipulate you.'_

Ao, suddenly realizing the meaning in his words, ran for the door and left the apartment, leaving Aeterna to his own devices.

'_Do you really think it was a good idea warning him about that? You know better than anyone how dangerous it is to bend time. If he strays from the path now, then it's likely that we won't be able to set him back on and the Contact will fail,' _a woman thought to him as she rose through the floor.

'_Don't worry about it,' _he thought back, waving it off, _'It isn't crucial that he is unprepared for this event. I am merely concerned for Naru. Despite her apparent loyalty to our cause, it would be more detrimental to both the boy and the Nirvash if events play out like last time. If she continues to believe that she can change that man's personality as she did in the original timeline, then the Contact is doomed to fail.'_

'_I guess you're right,' _she thought, looking down, _'I'm just not sure if this is the best choice.'_

'_Well, I may have to interfere directly on this one.' _He stood up and gave her a kiss, which was somewhat awkward as they were on opposite gravitational pulls, but no less heartfelt.

'_Be careful, love. We don't know what will happen to the timeline if you change the events surrounding him,' _she thought, running a hand across his cheek.

'_I know, and I'll try not to hurt him too badly. We were friends once, after all.'_

With that said, or thought rather, the two disappeared shortly before the alarms sounded.

**Génération Bleu Headquarters (Main Vehicle Entrance)**

The guards sat at their stations, sipping café and talking rather than monitoring the traffic like they should have been. They couldn't help it, though, as FP and magnet-hover technology had greatly reduced the accident rate; plus, there had only been a single direct attack on the facility before, and the guys that did it weren't professionals in the slightest and were apprehended in minutes. It was an incredibly dull job to guard a UN approved and funded facility like this.

"Did you hear about that new singer from Manchester?" one asked his colleague.

"Oh! You mean Miller? Of course, I hear she's really good," the other guard replied.

"Are you kidding? She's excellent! She's hit the top of the indie-rock charts worldwide and she's right here at headquarters. I hear the company's entertainment division managed to get a hold of her for a few months, or maybe even the rest of the year."

"She's that good, huh? I might have to go to her next concert."

"You really should. She's amazing!"

The third guard at the scene was the only one who was remotely doing his job. Sure, he was incredibly bored, but he, at least, recognized the importance of what he was doing and, in this instance, it paid off. He spotted something farther down on the road.

"Hey guys, look at this," he said, pointing down the road. Having caught the other guard's attention, he turned back and squinted at the shape. If he looked very closely, he could make out a… beautiful woman in a red dress?

Indeed, there was a woman walking down the road, the wind from passing cars fluttering about her purple hair and the flaps of her dress. However, as soon as she passed a street lamp, her form shifted into that of an Asian-looking man. With a smirk on his face, the man pointed a finger gun at the guard station and uttered one word.

"Bang!"

The entire guard station spontaneously exploded, leaving the main entrance covered in flames. Cars piled up in front of the ruined gates, as the man leaped over the burning platform and landed on the other side in the form of the woman once again. She looked as if she didn't care at all that there were now hundreds of armed guards surrounding her.

"Halt! Identify yourself!" one of the guards shouted at her.

"Me?" the woman chuckled, "Well if I have to introduce myself…"

All of the fire suddenly sprang forth from behind her and completely engulfed the men in front of her. By the time the last man had fallen, the woman's form had shifted again, revealing a teal-haired man wearing a black jacket over an all-black outfit and a glowing belt to hold it all together.

"My name is Truth."

**Génération Bleu Headquarters (Command and Analysis Room)**

Blanc walked in to find the Command Room in a frantic state of alert. It was a shame really. He had been taking the most wonderful nap when a pesky intruder decided to invade the city. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, walked up to his console and asked Stanley, who was below him, "What's the situation?"

Stanley quickly looked up. "The intruder broke in through the main gate and is heading toward the Residential and Recreational Districts. From the few who survived the initial attack, we've learned that the target is male and using weapons that we haven't seen before. None of them were able to provide conclusive details, though."

Blanc placed a hand on his chin. "Is it SENTINELS?"

Stanley shook his head. "No, it doesn't seem like their usual brand of experimental weaponry, and aside from that, they have no reason to attack us. We may have taken possession of the Mark 1, but that wouldn't be enough of a motivation for them to attack us."

"An Unknown, eh? What is the general direction of his attack?"

The man turned back to the screens before answering. "He's moving very fast, so it's hard to tell, but it looks like he's heading… upward."

"I see…" Blanc closed his eyes in thought. After a few moments he said, "Put out a scramble order for the Team Pied Piper and Team Goldilocks."

Stanley spun on his heel. "What? Why? Do you think he's going after the IFOs?"

Blanc nodded. "If he's heading in the direction of the upper areas, then it's very likely that he is targeting either the IFOs or the command center. If it's the previous, then we can at least draw him away from HQ."

Stanley looked at him for a few silent moments before heading towards the door of the lower level. "I'll inform the teams."

Out in the corridor, Rebecka was lost in her thoughts. She was analyzing the situation from all angles and trying to determine the identity and motive of the intruder. _'If it's not SENTINELS, then who could it be?'_

Her thoughts were broken, however, as Stanley stepped out of the Command Room. He didn't turn to look at her, but stopped in the middle of the hallway. "Has there been any intel, Ms. Hallström?"

Rebecka hesitated for a moment but responded, "None at all. The American Government knows nothing, though, they could be bluffing. Even I don't have access to more than the most basic information on SENTINELS."

"As I told Blanc, it is doubtful that they are behind this as we rival them as one of the largest proprietors of experimental military technology in the world and we don't have anything near capable of the destruction this man is causing. Well, except for _that, _but we can't control it nor can they."

"What do you want me to do?"

"As it stands, our top priority is moving the IFOs and securing the pilots. In the worst case scenario, we'll have to destroy the base and the secrets hiding in the basement."

Rebecka's eyes widened. She was surprised that they would be willing to go through such lengths to eliminate one man. "What about Blanc?"

"It isn't necessary that he be informed. What matters is the elimination of the target. Hurry and make the preparations. We haven't much time," Stanley replied, continuing his walk down the corridor. After a moment's hesitation, Rebecka departed as well.

**Génération Bleu Headquarters (Recreational District; Special Event Stage)**

"Oi Miller!"

Miller, who was sitting at a table and hovering over her tablet, turned her head to see her band members standing in the doorway.

"The shows been cancelled and we've been ordered to evacuate!" they called over to her.

Nearly sighing, she replied in a cheery tone, "You guys go on ahead of me! I'll be out of here shortly."

Nodding, the other two left, allowing her to turn back to her tablet which was showing various security feeds around the building. "What's he looking for?"

Her head shot up as she heard a sharp noise coming from the stage's speaker system. There, in the center of the spotlights and holding her microphone, was the man responsible for the destruction going on around her. She was so focused on him that she barely noticed the soldiers marching in to her defense. Unbeknownst to them, she held up her tablet and took several pictures using the camera that was on the underside.

"What are your intentions, you terrorist!" shouted the guard captain, "Who are you!"

"You guys didn't catch it the first time, huh?" he tauntingly spoke into the microphone, "Well then, I am Truth, and welcome to my live show: The Ball!"

At that point the captain realized that it would be pointless. "Forget it! Just shoot him!"

The entire squad of guards opened fire on the man, but it was pointless. All of the bullets just passed through him as if he weren't even there, much to his amusement. Seeming to grow bored, he leaped over them all and unleashed a huge blast of energy, blinding Miller. Struggling, she felt a hand grip her jaw and yank her off the floor from where she had ducked to avoid the blast.

When the light left her eyes, she could see that the stage was in shambles and all of the soldiers around her were dead. The worst part, though, was that the man known as Truth was the one gripping her jaw and he had a soft expression on his face.

"So, who are you?" he asked in an indifferent tone.

By now, there was really no other choice but to answer his questions. "I'm Miller," she replied in an equally indifferent manner, attempting to mask her fear.

"Miller… or Mirror?"

"It's Miller."

"Hmm. And what would a lovely lady such as yourself be doing here?"

"I'm a singer. The company hired me to sing here."

"You sing? Is that the truth?" he mused.

"It is," she returned, staring indignantly into his eyes.

He chuckled to himself for a moment before he released his grip her jaw, allowing her to fall back to the ground. He then walked a short distance away and picked up her tablet which had fallen away from her during the conflict.

"Sorry, but no pictures at my show," he said as he crushed the tablet in his hand. Afterward, he flew out of a hole in the ceiling leaving a stunned Miller sitting there. She decided that it would be best to leave after that.

**Génération Bleu Headquarters (En Route to IFO Hangers)**

Naru ran across up the stairwell as fast as her legs could carry her. Once the intruder had broken into the HQ, she had already decided to head up to the Command Center, which would be the safest place in this case, but she doubled her pace as soon as the order to scramble had been sent out. She knew that they would probably be called upon to pilot the Nirvash and fight him, whoever he was. Thankfully Ao had contacted her earlier and he was on his way as well.

She had reached the top of the stairs, but before she could enter the lobby, she came face to face with the teal-haired man shown in the warning signs sent out by the company. She gasped as she realized that this man was the intruder.

As their eyes met, Truth's mind flared up with feelings of recognition. _'A girl in white islander's clothing takes his hand and they float off together. He plants a vision of her rejection in the boy's mind for a bit of fun. The scene shifts. They stand together atop the Scub Coral. She is no longer clad in casual wear, but a white dress and odd adornments on her ears. She takes his hand in both of hers and smiles. She wants him to change, but he knows that he cannot for it would go against all that he is. The scene shifts once again. They are no longer on the same side. She battles against him in the red and white devil, while he holds the body of a devil himself.' _He snapped out of the vision and immediately shook his very quickly in an attempt to erase all memory of its appearance. It was just too absurd to be true. There was no way he and the girl could know each other. He did recognize her, though, from the Scub Burst of Okinawa all of those years ago. Deciding that pondering over it would get him nowhere, he decided to examine her more closely. She might hold a clue to this world's truth after all.

"It's you… The one who was protected by the Sea Giant…" he softly spoke, taking a step forward.

"Stay away from me!" she yelled, backing up slowly.

It was confusing to him. She was different… He could see it in her breath, in her eyes. She was changing, becoming like them, becoming like _her. _How could that have happened without his knowing about it? He was the only one who knew about the true nature of the Scub Coral, wasn't he?

His thoughts were interrupted by yet another group of guards running up to defend the girl.

"Go ahead and get inside! We'll handle him!" the said loudly to her. Nodding to them, she circled around the group, which was now surrounding him and entered the facility. Tiring of their insolence he placed a hand on the ground and willed several stone spires to rise from the ground and impale all of them through their chests. He leapt back into the air afterward and rose up towards his set target: the machine that would soon be his.

Ao soon came upon the scene and gasped in surprise and disgust at the brutality. He shook his head, trying to get it out of his mind. There was nothing he could do for the poor souls at the moment, so he entered the building as well.

**Génération Bleu Headquarters (IFO Hangers)**

Thanks to Ao's quick running speed, he reached Pied Piper's Locker Room only moments after Naru and they both donned their completed pilot suits, which were tailored to their exact size and cast in a dark grey and sea green color scheme to match the Nirvash. They both wanted to discuss the happenings outside of the Command Center, but they both set it aside until the conflict was over. This was no time for distractions. Walking through the catwalks, they greeted the Nirvash and boarded it before waiting for further instruction.

Meanwhile, Rebecka was arguing with Boyle about the current orders.

"Scramble? We can't do that until we load the Nirvash!" he exclaimed.

"It doesn't matter," she replied, "We must deploy even if we have to launch it separately." She then called up to the pilots. "Ao! Naru! You're going to go out ahead of us!"

"Understood!" they both called back before settling into their pilot seats. Suddenly, they both felt feelings of anger and alarm radiating from the Nirvash. They both whipped their heads towards the focus point of the machine's concern to find the intruder standing on the nose of the jet mode and holding a… microphone.

"Ah, so it's you. It's been a while since we've seen each other hasn't it?" questioned the man, seemingly talking to the Nirvash.

Ao, not realizing that this man was an intruder, stood up to talk to him. "Hey, what are you doing on the Nirvash?!"

Hearing this, Rebecka looked up and her eyes widened when she saw the man. "That's-"

Truth looked at the boy that had just called out to him. "So, its name is Nirvash. Hmm, and what are you doing piloting _that women's _machine?" Then, he saw it. Pale skin, violet eyes, turquoise hair sticking out from under his helmet… He was the spitting image of her, which could only mean one thing. "Ah, I see now. You're that woman's offspring. How… quaint."

"That woman? You mean my mother?" Truth ignored the boy as he was met with yet another surprise. The girl from earlier also rose from the cockpit of the machine. "Careful Ao! He's the intruder!" The boy snapped his head back in his direction with a look of surprise on his face.

He was, once again, confused. To his knowledge, the machine had been single pilot affair… and, now that he thought about it, it had also looked very different as well. He shook his head. _'No matter. How it operates is none of my concern as long as it serves its purpose.' _He looked over at the girl again. She was wearing an expression of caution on her face, but underneath he could see her fear, not for herself as much as the boy standing next to her. Seeing an opportunity, his lips curved upwards into a smirk.

"Get away from there!" He looked down to see a woman pointing a gun at him. He mentally chuckled. _'As if that will do anything to me.'_

"Get away from them this instant, or I'll-" She never had the chance to finish her sentence as she, Boyle, and many other workers were knocked far back by a large gust of wind.

"Fools… They think they can suppress the truth of this world and then they have the gall to challenge me?"

"Let's go!" Naru shouted, dragging Ao back into the cockpit and sealing it. The craft took off a moment later with Truth still hanging on.

**Génération Bleu Headquarters (Command and Analysis Room)**

"The Nirvash has made an emergency launch," an operator said from Stanley's side, "it's heading down Shaft 15 and nearing an exit tunnel."

'_This is a mess…' _"Guide them into the tunnel so they can make their escape," Stanley replied, "Close Gate A101 and open Gate A303."

"Yes sir!"

**Génération Bleu Headquarters (Sky Dock; Cargo Loading Shaft 15)**

The two pilots grunted pulled what would probably be the sharpest turn of their career. They had almost no time to react as the passageway in front of them suddenly closed off and another one, to their left, opened up. Ignoring the strain put on their bodies by the G-forces, they pulled the joysticks as hard as they could, just barely managing to avoid scraping the paint off the Nirvash's bottom. After another few meters they were outside and zooming far away from the HQ. However, much to their surprise and displeasure, Truth was still hanging on to the space in front of the cockpit.

"So you're using _her _weapon against me, huh?" he spoke to them, somehow projecting his voice directly into the cockpit, "I don't know why you thought that would work, but if that's the case then…"

Saying no more, his form unmade itself and burst into a colossal and shadowy bat-like apparition before them. In the center of its "facial" area, it bore a grin painted in crimson light, signifying a demented form of amusement. Naru immediately gasped in recognition. _'No… It can't be!' _Before they knew what was happening, the apparition engulfed them, showering them in darkness.

**Collective Unconscious**

Naru slowly opened her eyes to find herself on a cliff overlooking the ocean. She looked back and forth, surveying the area; this place… it was… familiar somehow. She then tilted her head to the right and spotted a lighthouse, far off in the distance, and a coastal town a short ways away from it. Then, it hit her. _'I'm back on Iwato Island.' _She looked down at herself to find her body garbed in her casual clothing she would wear around the island rather than her company uniform or her pilot suit that she'd been wearing moments ago. She opened her mouth in an attempt to speak only to find that no sound escaped her lips. _'This must be a world of thought just like the Scub Coral… It's colder here, though… much colder...' _This place gave her an uneasy feeling, like everything was wrong in a way that couldn't adequately be described.

'_There's no need to be afraid Naru…' _Naru spun around and found Ao to be standing behind her… Or at least she thought it was Ao for a moment. It was almost a perfect replica of her best friend, but his face didn't have the same softness and he didn't hold the same light in his eyes among other small differences. Her eyes narrowed. _'You are not Ao. Why don't you show me who you really are?'_

The vision of Ao chuckled in amusement. _'I'm that transparent, huh?' _His form shifted and took the appearance of the intruder. _'Well, I couldn't fool you after all. I guess you're too enamored with that boy to ignore the differences between he and I.'_

Ignoring his musings, she disdainfully responded, _'What do you want? And who the hell are you anyway?'_

He shot her a look of mock hurt before continuing. _'I am the seeker of the truth of this world and I share its name, for I am also called Truth.'_

'_How creative.'_

'_As to what I want… I want to create a world of peace, free of the oppressions of the Secrets or the Scub Coral. I want to return the world to its natural state and stop the pain and suffering.'_

That caught her attention. How could a man who was as violent and destructive as this want to build a world of happiness and peace, unless he was lying… or insane. Even though she knew it was a silly thing to hope for, she couldn't help but keep listening to him.

'_You know who I am, don't you?' _The apparition sprang up behind him and he began to walk forward. Naru gasped and froze in place at the sight. _'… Sea… Giant…' _

'_That's right,' _he thought, cupping her cheek, _'I am the one who protected you all of those years ago.' _

He lifted his other hand to cup her other cheek. _'All I want is to fill the world with happiness. Won't you come and help me?' _

He brought their faces closer together; he was so close that she was staring directly into his oddly shaped yellow eyes and she could almost feel his lips brushing against hers. It was exhilarating and horrifying at the same time. _'We could save her, you know. We can prevent the Scub Burst from ever happening. That woman will never have arrived on the island and you can live a happy and quiet life with your family. Your mother doesn't have to die.'_

'_All you have to do is come and fly with me…'_

She instantly snapped out of her reverie and came to her senses. If Eureka never came to the island, then Ao would never be born and they would never know each other. He would never speak those wonderful words to her and she would never take his hand.

Before Truth could capture her lips in his own…

'_AGH!' _Truth was on the ground and the girl was standing over him, panting, with an arm spread flat across her chest. He hadn't anticipated this. It should have been easy for him to get her on his side, but she had fought back. She had struck him with all of her strength, knocking him over and causing several large cracks to appear in various places all around them as if the world around them was made of glass.

'_You're no Sea Giant!' _Her thoughts resounded loudly throughout the environment causing the cracks to widen further. _'The Sea Giant loves and protects people! How could you even bear to pose as him when you've caused the deaths of countless innocent people!' _The cracks grew even wider, nearly to their breaking point. _'No… You're not my Sea Giant. My Sea Giant has always been and will always be the protector of my best friend and his kind mother: Nirvash!'_

**Lauterbrunnen Airspace**

The environment around them shattered completely as Truth lost his grip on the minds of the two pilots who found themselves to be, once again, just outside the HQ. Almost nothing had changed and judging by the chronometer in the cockpit, only mere moments had passed since they entered the mental world. Not wanting to risk crashing into the cliffs in front of them, they halted all forward momentum and brought themselves to a stop.

Seeing Truth as subdued for the moment, as he was just floating in the air and looking bewildered, they took a moment to rest.

"Are you alright, Ao?" Naru asked, concerned. He had been nowhere to be found in her and Truth's mental exchange and she was worried at what could have happened to him.

"I should be asking you that question!" Naru was startled by his response. It was rather loud and he seemed quite agitated.

"What do you mean?"

"What happened with you two… I saw everything. He made me watch him try and take you away. The way he was touching your face… the way he was… he was going to-" Naru swore under her breath. She had hoped to put this entire incident behind her and move on, but apparently that wasn't an option right now. Quietly, she reached over and placed a hand over his, gripping it tightly. Caught off guard, he looked up at her face to find her smiling at him.

"I'm glad you were so worried about me, but I'm fine. I wasn't going to go with him because he claimed to be my defender and fed me an empty promise. I value what the Nirvash has given me… what you've given me more than what some… murderer can offer me."

Ao was about to respond when they received a sudden hit from the side. Looking out the view screens, they could see that Truth had shaken himself from his stupor and was now floating aside them. He looked as if he was seething with anger, or at least you got that impression from his facial expression.

They quickly took off to evade him, but he was quick to pursue and no matter how fast they went or how sharply they turned, he was able to continue pursuing them. The best they could do was dodge his energy blasts, an action that served to cause him further frustration. Then, he noticed it. Floating right in front of his face was an excess of green Trapar particles coming from every direction.

Suddenly, all of the Scub Coral in the area began to light up and release the familiar particles of light causing both parties to stop and observe this new phenomenon. From each cluster, a beam of light shot forth and all of them met at a central location in the skies high above. At this center-point, an orb of light formed and began to rapidly grow larger and larger with each passing moment, seemingly gathering clouds around itself in the process. At the culmination of its growth, it had taken on the appearance of a gigantic sphere of rotating clouds much to the wonder of everyone in the surrounding area. The entire event took only a few seconds to reach its end.

"W-What is this?" Truth stammered out. He thought he had seen everything that the world had to offer, so when an unknown variable like this cropped up, he had no choice but to feel fear.

All members of Génération Bleu who were watching the events unfold remained silent as a lone figure descended from the bottom of the sphere and came to rest in midair at the same level of altitude that Truth now held. Hoping to learn more about this anomaly, Truth flew toward the figure. Coming to a stop in front of the figure, he found it to be the translucent image of a man. His blue hair remained static, unaffected by the wind, as did his button-up shirt and slacks.

'_Hello Truth.' _The man's voice was projected directly into his head.

Immediately, Truth's mind flared in recognition once again. _'A young man, beaten down by his own inescapable destiny sits at the edge of the world with his only friend left by his side. They talk for ages and ages about anything and everything on their voyage. An opportunity to break the cycle is presented and the young man takes it, leaving his friend without an existence as he proceeds to leave his exile in the hopes that one day, all will be well again.' _Truth grips his head in pain as the vision presses itself on his pre-established memories. He looks back up at the man, whose expression had not changed from the smile he had presented in greeting.

"You!" he exclaimed, attempting to subdue the pain in his mind, "You hold the truth of this world within you! I don't know why I can see it in my mind, but I can! Who are you?!"

The man bowed deeply. _'I am that which cannot be defined by the dimensions of time and space. I am timeless, eternal. My name is Aeterna.'_

Truth couldn't quite place the cause, but a fury erupted deep within him. Maybe it was due to the pain he felt or maybe it was due to the fear, but he gained the increasing feeling that he couldn't let such a creature exist in this world. With as much knowledge as this man possessed, he couldn't risk the effect he could have on his perfect world. Ignoring the throbbing of his head, he launched several energy blasts at the translucent figure.

Aeterna shook his head as the volatile projectiles passed through him harmlessly. _'Such violent behavior. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to do this, but if I must, then I must.' _He then raised his arm skyward, pointing in the direction of the sphere.

To the astonishment of everyone other than Aeterna, hundreds of strange creatures began to pour out of the sphere and circle around the two men in a pair of intersecting rings. The beasts were indescribable. It was as if each one had a unique body type as there was very little consistency between them; many of them resembled bacteria or other microorganisms.

Truth couldn't afford to think such things, though, as he was trying to remove himself from unseen forces that were now holding him in restraint. With all of his strength, he tried to lift even one of his limbs, but he was meant with failure on each try. Aeterna continued to smile at him peacefully.

'_Do not try and fight it. There is no way to escape the power of the Antibodies.' _He placed a comforting hand on his shoulder despite the fact that he wouldn't be able to feel it. _'Now let us bring you to true peace.' _They began to ascend until they entered the cloud sphere. As soon as the breached its outer wall, Truth fell into a slumber devoid of dreams.

Soon, almost twenty minutes after its arrival, the Sphere collapsed in on itself, leaving no trace of it having existed in the first place. Science teams would be baffled by this for quite some time.

**Eglin Airforce Base (United States; Valparaiso, Florida)**

"Yes, he was recently sighted breaching Génération Bleu's headquarters," Colonel Nick Tanaka spoke into the receiver, "…No we don't know what happened to him. An unknown party intervened and took him with them. His current whereabouts are unknown… Yes we'll keep an eye out for him."

He swiveled his chair around from the window he had been looking out of back to his desk. "It seems our agent has successfully infiltrated the HQ… Yes, she says that she's been down there." He took a picture out of his drawer and stared at it intently from behind his thick sunglasses. The image of a humanoid machine could just barely be made out. "It seems that _Le Diable de la Rose _is indeed under the facility. Yes… We'll make our move eventually, but the timing must be right."

**A/N:**

**Well this chapter was going to be longer, but I just felt like finishing this one. I'm not entirely happy with it, though, for reasons that I can't quite define. I'm okay with the beginning, but the end just irks me for some odd reason. I'll fix it in the rewrite I guess. To any who are wondering, the woman who appears before Aeterna in this chapter is making her first appearance, so she is not the one who was with him in the previous chapters in case you were getting any funny ideas about me. It was nice to write a chapter that was almost entirely without action for once. I always feel as if I'm not descriptive enough when it comes to that. Oh well. As always, send me an idea if you have one and please point out any grammatical or spelling mistakes. I've got a good feeling here; I think I know what I want to do with this fic now.**

**UPDATE: Well a lot of the above paragraph was rendered null by the fact that the chapter is longer now. Not much more to say really other than I was kind of mean to Truth in the remainder of this chapter. Serves him right for being pointless to the plot of the original anime and a terrible character to boot. Next time, I mess around with Ao's hormones because it seems appropriate to me after the *ahem* events of this chapter. I'm sorry about this, by the way, and I'll try to never do this again and just write a new chapter instead. **


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